Vivi returns
by David Jaxon
Summary: They promised that she could return if she wanted to. Now she is ready to do just that. First ever story. LuffyVivi. Chapter 33 is up.
1. Prologue Training

I don't own one piece. None of the characters are mine. The plot, however, is.

"Peacock string slasher!" The string, rapidly whirling around her pinky finger, shot out towards Chaka, aiming for his chest. He brought his sword up to block and deflected it to the side, only to see the blue haired princess of Alabasta lunging at him attacking with her second string. He just barely ducked out of the way, and Vivi landed on the other side of him, pulling back the first string she shot out and returning to a fighting stance.

On a tower near the field, her father watched on. This was how it had been for the last few weeks, ever since she had come to him, her mind and her heart already made up.

Flashback

In the streets of Alubarna, the blue haired princess walked through the city streets, observing the people of her city. Peace had finally returned to the land and the city itself was back on its feet. She smiled throughout the entire walk through the city.

However, the more she walked, the more she was beginning to feel somewhat conflicted. Inside she knew that she had a responsibility to this city, to everyone in this city. And yet, a little bit deeper inside, she felt as if she was being called somewhere else. As if her presence was needed elsewhere. She spent the better part of the day thinking on this before something caught her eye. A small black spot on her left arm. She moved up her sleeve and revealed the small black X that she and the straw hat crew had tattooed on their arms. A constant reminder that no matter what, they would always be nakama. That's when it hit her.

In a flash she was running back to the palace and into the throne room, where her father was currently seated. She collected herself a little before entering the room.

Her father was speaking to Chaka when he noticed his daughter walking up to him. He smiled for a little bit, and then noticed something in her eyes. Something different. "Vivi, is everything ok?"

Vivi looked him straight in the eyes. There was no hesitation on her face. "Father, I can't stay here anymore. I know that this will sound selfish but hear me out before you say anything." She took a deep breath.

"I want to return to Luffy-san and the straw hat crew. Walking through the city today I realized that my heart has been longing to go back out to sea and on adventures again. I miss the sea. I miss spending my nights in that boat. I miss waking up never knowing just what the day will bring. I miss hanging out with the crew; even enduring Sanji-san's constant overbearing attentiveness. And….. I miss him. He did so much for me, for all of us. I didn't realize it at first, but somewhere along the line, I began to grow feelings for him. I don't know if he has them for me, and I really don't care. Just as long as I can be by him, that's all that matters."

Staying true to their word, Cobra and Chaka remained silent for the entirety of her speech. When she finished Cobra was the first to speak up. "I see. He really had an effect on you didn't he?" He closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them back up. "Very well, if this is truly what you desire then I will not try to stop you. So, when would you like to leave?"

At this, Vivi shook her head from side to side. "Not yet. I still have one more thing I need to do. I have to get stronger. Way stronger than I was when I was with them. All I ever did was get in their way during battle. I couldn't fight for myself. No, if I can't battle for myself, then I won't leave this place."

"Very well, then I shall allow Chaka to train with you. You can use the courtyard that was unfortunately destroyed by Crocodile."

"Ok, but can you do me one more thing?" She looked away slightly. "Can you make sure that Kohza doesn't enter the palace? I do not want any distractions while I prepare myself."

He looked down at her, slightly confused. 'Vivi is really taken by that boy if she doesn't even want Kohza here.' "Ok, Kohza will not be allowed in here, though I don't know how much that will help since he always finds a way in."

"I'll take care of that, just as long as he can't get in through the front doors. Ok, I'll see you tomorrow morning, bright and early Chaka. Later." And with that she ran off to prepare herself for some training.

End

And so that is how she had begun to train with Chaka. And she did seem to be getting better as well. As the days went on, Chaka had to work harder and harder to beat her. Now he was truly giving his all just to keep up with her.

The fight continued. "Peacock snake!" She lashed out one of her strings and Chaka tried to deflect it once again but instead of being deflected, it wrapped around his sword. Chaka looked stunned. "Looks like she's learned to control those things better." When he felt her tug at the sword he held on to it fast.

She smiled at this. "Right where I want you." She pulled one last time on the sword, this time hard. Chaka held on to the sword once, not letting go. However that proved to be a mistake when he saw Vivi come flying at him. "She used my grip on my sword to launch herself at me?!" He realized too late as she came at him.

"Peacock string slasher!" She lashed out her other one at him and it looked like she had him. Instead he dropped his sword and stepped aside. When she landed right where we was standing a second ago, he raised and arm ready to strike her down. She wanted no mercy from him and she was gonna get it.

"Runback!" Vivi brought the string backwards into Chaka's side, sending him flying across the ground. He skidded to a stop and groaned in pain. His rest was short lived when he saw Vivi, standing over him, her strings whirling like two mini buzz saws inches from his face.

He looked up at her. She was sweaty, panting, and still a little bruised from the days that had passed, but her face said it all. "I win."

Chaka let a small smile creep across his face. "Congratulations, Vivi-sama. You are now ready."

Vivi smiled as well. She put away her strings and held out a hand to Chaka to help him up. "Wow, I didn't think I was gonna hit you with that one."

Chaka stood with her help. "Yea, me neither. That one took me by surprise. But how did you do that thing? What did you call it, 'peacock snake?"

"Oh that? I don't really know how to explain it. It's more of an instinctual thing really." He said wiping the sweat from her face. "I just kinda let my body take over while I'm fighting."

"Well I'd say that you have the instincts of a true warrior. That was absolutely fantastic."

Vivi smiled and began to walk back to the palace when her father called. "Vivi!"

She looked up. "Yes father?"

"Are you sure that you want to do this, because the moment you leave, the moment anyone sees you with those pirates, there will be nothing that I can do. I will have to cut you off from the family name. After that there will be no turning back."

Vivi's face went dark. "I was well aware of what would happen when I made my decision. I realized that there would be no looking back once I was there. But, I also realize that this is what I truly want, with all my heart. I want to be with them." In her mind she secretly said, 'With him'. "They helped me so much and I grew to look at them as sort of a family now. I want to go back, no matter what that may mean."

Her father smiled. 'So she is really ready for this.' "Then I will go ahead and get your ship ready to leave. You can go as soon as you are ready." He slowly walked off

She watched her father leave for a little while longer before finally going to her room to prepare. She was really going to be a pirate. A real pirate. Not a temporary one, like she was when she was with Luffy and his crew last time. No, now it was for real and it was forever. She silently packed her belongings and then walked out of the palace. Her last days in this country were upon her. She wanted to properly say goodbye to everything.

And everyone.


	2. Last day

Vivi spent the rest of the day walking through the city of Alubarna, visiting the various shops and stalls there. She wanted to make sure that she saw every face that inhabited her precious city, making sure that no one would be left out of her heart. Some greeted her with waves and formal acknowledgements, others to thank her for all that she had done for them.

While walking past a food mart, she spotted a few suspicious looking characters out the corner of her eye. They were staying close together and were looking around making sure no one saw them. Staying out of sight she observed the men's actions

The men maneuvered their way around and through the various shops, and eventually led a woman into a dark dead-end alley. Vivi, taking out her peacock strings, ran towards the men in the alley. When she got there she saw them, backing her up against the stone wall, and trying to rip her clothes off. She was a fighter, but there were too many men trying to get her. That was until Vivi's string came and wrapped around one of their necks. She pulled hard and he was flung against the opposite wall. The two remaining men turned to attack. One pulling out a couple of knives, the other unsheathing a sword.

Vivi got set, a confident look on her face. This would be her final test before leaving her homeland. Dodging the one with the knives, she turned her attention to the swordsman. He tried to bring his sword down on her head, but she easily dodged and set up for an attack.

"Peacock string slam!" She shot the string straight up into the sky and then brought it down like an extremely long hammer against his head. He was knocked out cold.

Knives wielder, as she had decided to nickname him, was trying to surprise her from behind, but she simply stepped to the side and brought forth the final blow. "Runback!" She brought the string straight backwards into his chest, sending him flying into the wall. Observing her work for just a second she then walked towards the woman who was nearly raped.

She bent down before the woman, who was currently curled up in the corner, clothes half torn, but nothing exposed. "Hey, it's ok now. They won't bother you anymore." The woman, recognizing her voice, looked up, tears streaming down her face. When she saw her face, the tears stopped and a smile slowly made its way across her face. "Oh, t-thank you princess." Vivi smiled and helped her back to her house.

Once Vivi was sure that the woman would be alright she made her way back to the palace. She made her way to her room and was greeted by Igaram.

"Hel-. Ahem. Mah Mah Maaaaah. Hello there princess. How are you doing today?"

"Oh hey Igaram. I'm doing just fine right now. Yourself?"

"Oh, you know. Same thing every day, but I never tire of it."

"I see. So you and father were following me again?" She said, smiling.

"Oh, no, nothing like that. Your father just asked me to help make the preparations for your ship. Everything that you will need will be on the ship ready for you.

"That's great, but don't overdo it. I'm just taking the ship to find Luffy-san and the rest of them. After that I will be sending the ship back here."

"Oh, really? You won't be keeping the ship?"

"Please Igaram. Think about it? What if the Marines saw this ship with them? What would that do to this kingdom when it gets out that not only I am now a pirate, but that my own father helped me to get there?"

"Oh, I see. I guess I didn't think about it that way."

"The only other thing that will be going with me is Karoo. Other than that it will be just me, them, and the sea."

"Hmm. Oh by the way, I have some news about them." He pulled up two pieces of paper. "The new bounty list came out."

Vivi looked at the papers, specifically the ones with Luffy and Zoro's faces on them. "Wow. Roronoa Zoro, 60,000,000 berries. Straw Hat Luffy, 100,000,000 berries. I guess this was for defeating Crocodile." He thought about this for a second and giggled.

"Hmm? May I ask what is so funny right now?"

"The government. They say that it was Captain Smoker that defeated Crocodile, yet they give Luffy's bounty a large boost. I wonder how most of the regular public is gonna react to this."

"Once again you have caught something that even I did not notice."

She smiled once again and yawned. It was starting to get a little late. "Ok I guess I will turn in for the night. Tomorrows the big day after all."

"Yes. Will you not reconsider this though? There is still time to turn back."

Vivi looked up at him. Her face was full of a determination that he had not seen ever since, ever since she decided to infiltrate Baroque Works. "Igaram, I want to do this. When I stood on that shore and asked them if I could one day return as their nakama, I meant every word of it. If I back out now, then I will go on every day thinking that I have betrayed their trust. No, tomorrow I leave this island and head out to find them."

Igaram listened to every word, or the power that was behind those words. But what most amazed him was how she carried herself. Usually in time like these, heavy with emotion, she would break out into tears. This time though, she stood tearless, staring straight into his eyes. That straw hat had done something to her that no one else, not even Kohza, could ever hope to do. "Very well then Vivi-sama." He pulled her into a big hug. "I will be there tomorrow to see you off, but I think I will say this now. It has been my absolute pleasure serving you all these years."

Vivi returned the hug and then turned to her room. "I'll see you tomorrow Igaram."

She went to her bag making sure she had everything she needed. Then she got in her bed and laid there. This was it. After tomorrow there was no more turning back. Alabasta would no longer be her home; she would no longer have a father. But it was ok. She was gaining a new family. Or rather she was rejoining the one that she was already a part of. Smiling widely, she went to sleep. 'I'm coming back, Luffy."

Chapter 2. Read and Review.


	3. Farewell Kohza

Ok chapter three is up and running. I've finally got a timeframe up. This is all happening around the end of the Skypiea arc. They should be meeting up soon

The blue haired princess was use to quite the spectacle whenever she was leaving her country. There were parades and cheering by the people of her country every time she set sail on the waters of the grand line. She was so used to it, in fact, that she was almost surprised to see that there was almost no one there at the port where her ship was slated to leave. The last time she had felt like that was when she left with Igaram to infiltrate Baroque Works.

But as quickly as the feeling came, it left. She knew that she had to leave now, when there was no one there. If the pleading of her two most trusted bodyguards and her father didn't stop her, the faces of her people as she left the country that she grew up in, the country that she had saved just a couple of months ago with Luffy and his crew, the country that she had grown to love more than anything, just might.

The port itself was a blur of activity. The workers were loading the last of the supplies on to the ship, the shipwrights were making sure that the ship was completely ready for the constantly changing waters of the grand line one last time, and Cobra was explaining to the captain and crew Just what they were doing. Everyone here had been told to swear secrecy to the King. No one would find out about her from anyone in the country.

Vivi, in the mean time had been checking and double checking her bags ever since she had gotten to the port. Even though she knew in her heart that this is what she wanted to do, that didn't mean that she didn't have to be nervous. Almost as soon as she got there, the uncertainty of it hit her. Her mind started racing through loads of questions. 'What if we don't catch up with them? What if they went a different route than we are going? What if I am found out before we find them?'

Finally the captain rang the bell at the helm. "Supplies are all loaded and the ship is ready. Everyone take your places and get ready to set sail."

The rest of the crew looked up at him and yelled, "Aye!"

Vivi finally looked up. "No, I can't have any doubts in my mind. I have to believe that I will meet them somewhere along this sea. I don't care how long it takes me, I will find them."

Her father and Chaka were waiting for her at the ships ladder. She smiled, trying to hide her inner conflicts from them, and walked up to them. "Well father, Chaka. I suppose this is it."

"Yes I suppose it is Vivi-sama." Chaka said.

"Chaka, thank you for agreeing to train me for this. I know that everything you taught me will help me while I'm with them. And..." The tears began to form but she held them back. "Thank you for everything else you have done for me. I will never forget you." She stepped forward and gave him a big hug, probably the last one she would ever give him. Chaka returned the hug and then stepped back so that Cobra could say his part.

"Vivi, ever since you were little, I knew that you were destined for something other than this life. When you got into that fight alongside Kohza, it confirmed my feelings. It was always there, that will to explore this vast sea. You just needed someone to give you that little push in the right direction. The straw hat boy gave you that push, and now you are going out to fulfill that destiny. If you do end up finding him, then tell him I said thank you. You were, no, you will always be the daughter that I have always wanted to have, and even though you won't be staying here, I will always love and remember you as the princess of the greatest country on the grand line."

This was almost too much for her to bear, and the tears were now streaming down her cheeks. "Father... I...I..." With no words coming to mind, she simply threw herself into her father's arms. "I won't ever forget you, father. I will always love you."

Cobra embraced her and comforted her. "Ok, it's time."

Vivi nodded and boarded the ship. Caroo was already there, sleeping in a corner of the bow of the ship. "Oh, Vivi?" her father beckoned "I have asked Igaram to accompany you as well. He will meet you on the other side of the country to make sure that you aren't seen."

"Alright father. Thank you again"

The ship finally raised the anchor and was setting off. Vivi continued to wave at her father and her guardian until they were out of sight. They reached the other side of the island and picked up Igaram and were finally ready to begin the search for Straw Hat Luffy.

"Where is she? I know that she is here somewhere." Back at the castle, Kohza had been searching up and down, looking for Vivi. The past few weeks, something had been going on with her. Usually when he came to visit her one of the royal guards would say that he wasn't allowed to be let in. Then Vivi would come and say that it was ok.

However, lately, whenever he came the guards would say, "Vivi-sama has requested that no one be allowed to disturb her. Including you, Kohza."

That only made him more determined to find out what was going on. But when he went to the secret entrance, he found it blocked. Only he and Vivi knew about it, so he knew something was wrong.

But now the castle was all but empty. The same guards were there to keep him out, but this time the secret entrance was open. However there was no sign of Vivi, Cobra, Chaka, Igaram, or ever Caroo. "Something's not right here."

He pondered this for a while until he found a note somewhere in her room. It was addressed to him.

Dear Kohza,

If you are reading this then that means I am already at sea. This time though, I won't be coming back. The sea is calling me, Kohza, and although I love this country, my mind and my heart has been made up. I want to travel the seas and have adventures. I want to be able to rely on myself sometimes. But most importantly, I want to be with those who called me their nakama. I'm sorry Kohza, but I must follow my heart now. I hope you understand.

Sincerely,

Princess Nefertari Vivi.

Kohza continued to look at the letter from her for a long time before dropping the paper and leaving the castle. His mind was now made up. He was going to bring her back, and no one would stop him. Not her father. Not her guardian, not even the one who she was going to find. "You will pay for this, Monkey D. Luffy."

Ok R&R please. Also I need a few ideas for some of Vivi's peacock string attacks. If you have any ideas please send them and I will try my best to work them in. Thanks.


	4. The Straw Hat Crew

Ok Mugiwara fans. Chapter 4 is now up. If this seems like it doesn't make sense don't worry. It will soon.

A few days later somewhere in the grand line...

The unpredictable waters of the grand line were rather calm at this point in time. There wasn't a cloud in the sky as far as the eye can see. The only sounds that could be heard were the occasional seagull flock in the sky, and the small waves crashing against a small boat that was currently traversing this sea. Someone looking at this boat would wonder just how this little thing was still floating on the water. Numerous parts of it, including the mast and parts of the side, were being held together with metal sheets. However, that same person could probably look at the sail and immediately cringe in fear of the owners of that same ship. The sail and the flag, which both bore the Jolly Roger wearing a straw hat, struck fear into those who saw it and at the same time invited all those who thought they stood a chance to try and take the bounties that it held.

One of those bounties was currently in the crow's nest. He had volunteered to keep an eye out for the next island, however he used this time to do one of his favorite pastimes; sleeping.

Moving on down to the deck, the blue-nosed reindeer was reading one of the latest medical books to be released to the general public, though none of it contained anything new to him.

A few feet next to him, the long-nosed sniper/temporary shipwright was currently adding a few more features to the navigator's weapon, the climatact. He made sure to remember to tell her that he would be expecting payment for this soon.

Speaking of the navigator, she was currently down below working on a few more maps. She occasionally looked up at her log pose to make sure that the ship was still pointed in the right direction.

Up above her in the ships kitchen, the cook was getting lunch ready. According to their navigator, they were still a good while away from the next island so lunch was a good idea right now.

Meanwhile on the front deck, the archaeologist was in her favorite lawn chair, reading up on some interesting ruins that were on the grand line. Some of them even contained poneglyphs, and she couldn't wait to reach them.

On the headpiece of the ship, there sat a young man facing forward towards the sea. All of the identifying marks present; the scar below his left eye he gave himself when he was little, the straw hat that was given to him by his hero and inspiration, and the big, toothy smile that was present on his bounty picture.

These are the Straw Hat Pirates; Roronoa Zoro, Tony Tony Chopper, Usopp, Nami, Sanji, Nico Robin, and Monkey D. Luffy. Although the government will say that it was Captain Smoker and the Marines that did it, these are the pirates that took out Mr. 0 Crocodile, one of the Shichibukai. These are the pirates that ended Arlongs reign as the dominant figure in east blue. These are the pirates that journeyed to Skypiea and put an end to ''God" Enel's rule. And most recently, they just entered the marines most secure base, G8, and actually escaped in one piece.

Now they were back on track and ready to head to the next island, but for now there was nothing but sea, sea, and more sea. This would have been disastrous, considering how easily Luffy gets bored, if not for...

"Oi, lunch is ready." Sanji poked his head out of the door and made his announcement.

Everyone began to file into the ships kitchen, though Luffy would be entering last after running head first into Sanji's well polished shoe. Everyone began to eat, making sure to protect as much as they could from the rubbery arms of their captain.

Once lunch was done everyone went back to their respective activities. Robin took her place in the crow's nest, Sanji went with Nami to help her tend to her tangerine grove, Usopp began telling more tall tales to Chopper, who sat back believing every word, Zoro decided to train a little more, and Luffy, retaking his place on top of the lambs head, looked out over the sea for a while before falling asleep.

An hour later, Robin spotted an island coming up over the horizon.

"Sencho-san. Wake up." She sprouted a hand next to her captain to wake him up.

"Eh, what is it Robin? Is it dinner yet?" he said sleepily.

She laughed at her captain's preoccupation with food. "No, sencho-san. There's an Island coming up."

Luffy immediately woke up. "Awesome. Oiiiiiiiii, Nami!" He called to his navigator.

She came out from her grove with Sanji literally floating behind with a basket full of tangerines. "What is it this time Luffy?" She couldn't even begin to count the number of times her captain called her for somewhat less than trivial reasons.

"Robin says we're coming up on an island," he called back.

Nami took a quick look at the log pose. "Hey Robin, which direction?"

Robin took a quick look. "A little to the right."

A smile grew across Nami's face. "Alright that's the next island. I haven't actually been there before and it doesn't have a name. All anyone really knows about it are two things. One; it's a prehistoric island Two; It takes about 5 days for the log to reset."

"Alright that's perfect. I was hoping to take a bit of a vacation anyway." The captain was nearly ecstatic.

Zoro came from the back of the ship. "What about a vacation?" Everyone soon began to turn their attention to the captain.

"Well, we haven't really had much time to just sit back and relax after we helped Vivi in Alabasta right? We've just gone from one adventure to the next ever since."

At this the entire crew minus Robin and Chopper screamed, "AND WHO'S FAULT IS THAT?"

Completely ignoring them the captain continued. "So I was thinking that once we got to the next island we stopped and forgot about everything and just had fun for a while. What do you say?"

The crew just stared in awe of their captain. He may have a childish attitude, and he may tend to rush into everything that happened, but he cared about the morale and health of his crew more than anything.

Taking the looks on their faces as a yes, he looked up at Robin. "Oi, Robin. What can you seen on the island?'

Robin took a peak through the telescope. "There looks to be a big jungle on the entire island, save for the coast, which is a rather beautiful beach. There is a big volcano right in the center of it."

The captain smiled. That was ok with him. "So Nami, are we taking a break or what?"

Nami smiled. Typical of their captain. "Chopper, a few degrees to starboard."

The captain couldn't help but smile. "Oiiiiiiiiiii, let's head to the next island, where we have our vacation.

Even if you were a mile away from the boat on either side, the only thing you could have heard from the boat was a loud, cheerful, and resounding "AYE!"

Ok It's done for now. R&R please. Also a few things. First, if i mess up any part of the story, please let me know so i can fix it. Second, I'm still accepting ideas for Vivi's Peacock string attacks. I've got a few ideas but i would really like to know what you want to see.

I'll be back soon with chap. 5 so stay tuned.


	5. Time to relfect

Ok Chapter 5 ready set ...GO

The sea known as the grand line, even though she had been living in it for all of her life, still mystified Vivi to the point of sheer fascination . They had narrowly escaped being caught in one of the seas most unpredictable natural disasters , a cyclone, got caught in a snow storm, made it past a nest of sea kings, and are currently enjoying a nice, peaceful, sunny day. All within just a few days.

She currently stood in the crow's nest, looking out for islands, storm clouds, and ships, though in reality she was really only looking for one ship in particular. Every now and then she would sit down with a random crew member and ask them what they thought about what she was doing. The first time that she would ask, they would all answer the same. "'If it is what you want to do then I can only be happy for you." Or something along those lines. However, she had quickly caught on to this, and just as quickly became tired of it. So whenever they gave her that answer, she stopped them in mid sentence. "I am no longer the princess of Alabasta anymore. I made that decision when I left that country. Now I am just Nefe-." She had to stop herself there. After deciding to leave her home and her lineage, she could no longer use her family's name anymore. "I am just Vivi, soon to be member of the Straw Hat Pirates. So I need you to be perfectly honest with me now. What do _you_ think?"

The soldier that she had first tried this one seemed to relax a little at this. "Well, when you put it that way, I am deeply saddened at the loss of such an influential figure to us, but I am even more saddened by what this will mean to my family. My daughter has always adored you, probably more than anything else in the world. Her dream was to one day become a strong leader like you, maybe even have her own country. I don't know what she is going to do when she finds out that you have left, but I suppose that if I tell her that you are only doing what you feel in your heart you have to do, then I am sure she will be content, maybe even inspired by, your decision."

Vivi was a mixed bag of emotions whenever she talked to one of the sailors about this. She never really gave any thought as to how great of an influence she was to the people of not just her city, but her entire country. However, standing on the very top of the ship looking out over the horizon, she never let any doubt enter her mind. "I wish I could have had the chance to explain to all of you why I had to leave you like this, but…." She suddenly jumped out of the nest, swung on one of the ropes down to the deck, entered her room, and began to write a letter to her people.

Once she was done she went to find Igaram, who was currently with the captain of the ship.

"Igaram, I need you to do something for me."

Igaram turned to her. "Oh, Vi- ahem. Mah mah maaaaaaaaaaaah. Vivi-sama. How may I help you?"

She handed him the letter. "When I am found out, when it does get out that I am with Lu- the Straw Hat Crew, please tell my father to read this to the country. "

He quickly skimmed through the letter, looked at her over the piece of paper, and smiled. "Don't worry. When the time comes, your people will know the true story."

"Thank you , Igaram. Ok, I'm heading back up."

"Don't you think you should give it a rest for a little? We have the best lookouts anywhere, plus we have our countries fastest ship. I'm sure that we will catch up with them eventually so there is no need to be so eager."

"Thank you Igaram, but I want to be able to see them first with my own eyes."

Igaram smiled. "Very well, Vivi-sama." He went back to his conversation with the captain.

Vivi smiled and headed back up to the nest. She stayed there until well into the night, when she finally retreated to her room for the night.

She was awoken the next morning with the sound of one of the ships lookouts. "Oiiiii, island off the starboard bow."

She quickly dressed and exited her room. She looked in the direction that he called out, and sure enough saw the island.

The captain took a look at his log and then began calling out orders. "Alright, head for the island. Get a team ready to head out a search for provisions."

Vivi looked up at him. "How do you know there isn't a town on that island?"

The captain answered without looking at her. "Because I know that island. Aside from the fact that it is prehistoric, it also doesn't have a name."

Back at the palace

"Cobra, we have a problem! Vivi is gone! She went to join that pirate!" Kohza was frantic as he handed the king the letter Vivi had left him.

He looked at the letter and then nodded. "Hmm, so she decided to tell you after all, huh?"

Kohza was shocked. "How can you sound so calm about this? She's gone with that filthy pirate and his crew. I may be grateful to him for saving us from Crocodile, but he is still a pirate. Vivi shouldn't be with them. Why are you still sitting there when you should be getting ready to go after her and stop her?"

Cobra sighed. "Kohza, don't you think it would look stupid if I went out and stopped her after I let her go?"

Kohza went pale. "Y-you what????"

"I gave her the ship she is currently on, brought together the best crew I could find, and made sure that no one would find out about her until she made herself known. It was what she wanted to do. I had no right to stop her."

Kohza was about to burst. "You- You traitor. How could you just let her go like that? Well if you aren't going to do something then I will."

"Kohza I ask that you please let her be. This was her-" he was cut off by Kohza's sword coming up to his neck.

"Old man if you stop me, I swear to God I will kill you." The look in his eyes was almost that of a maniac.

"Very well Kohza. But be warned. The hearts of her own people, her own family wouldn't change her mind. I doubt she will come back just because you want her to."

Kohza was on his way out. "Well then, I guess if she won't come on her own, then I'll just make her come."

In his mind, he added one more detail. "That is, after I make her watch as I murder the one that started all of this. Get ready straw hat, you are about to face the wrath of something far worse than Crocodile ever could be.'

Ok i know what you are thinking. "What could Kohza possibly do?" Well i won't completely spoil it but i will say that once he is ready, he won't be swimmng any time soon.

Ok you know the drill. R&R and please send the suggestions.


	6. Reunion

Man, I have been on a roll lately haven't I? Well here ya go. Chapter 6.

Once Vivi's ship docked on the beach of the nameless island, a team consisting of 10 crew members was brought together to search the island for provisions. The captain made it very clear that this was a very dangerous, so if anything happened they were to stop whatever they were doing and run away. They said they understood, and were off.

Meanwhile, Vivi, who had been feeling a little confined from being of the ship for so long, decided that she would take a walk through the jungle for a while. She waited until both the captain and Igaram weren't paying attention and snuck off the ship.

The jungle reminded her of the time she spent on Little Garden with the straw hats. This time she just hoped that she didn't have to deal with giants waging a century long battle, people that turned others into wax statues, people who could control others with paint, and giant fish upon their departure.

However the one thing that she knew she wouldn't avoid were the dinosaurs, as this was a prehistoric island after all. This was punctuated by the Tyrannosaurus that had decided that she would make a nice lunch. Vivi smiled at this. "Hope I haven't gotten too rusty." She took out her strings and prepared for battle.

Back at the ship)

The lookout was standing near the top of the ship in the crow's nest. He was making sure to keep a look out for hostile pirates, Marines, and others that could pose a threat to Vivi's secret. However, what he would find would make his heart nearly stop where it was. "S-S-S-S-Sencho!"

The captain looked up from where he was standing. "Huh? What is it?"

"I-I-It's them. They are here on this island." He said pointing towards a clearing in the trees. Beyond them, there stood a Jolly Roger. One that wore a straw hat.

"Peacock guillotine!" Vivi shot her strings off to the sides and then brought them across the dinosaur's neck in a scissor motion, removing it from its body. The head reached the ground with a loud thump, and the body soon followed. Vivi retracted her strings and looked around. She sighed. "Not even a god enough warm up."

The jungle grew quiet and Vivi grew worried. Keeping her hands ready to take out her strings, she looked around, waiting for anything.

What she got was an attack from all sides as 7 people, inhabitants of the island judging by the way they were dressed, jumped out from the bushes around her.

She didn't have time to hesitate. She did the first thing that came to her mind. "Peacock revolution!"

The strings shot out and she did a complete 360 degree turn. Her strings caught all but one of them, who actually decided to duck at the last moment. The others were sent flying off to the side, but the one that dodged tried for a second attack, pointing his spear at her throat.

"Runback!" she brought one string back to him, but he brought his spear up to stop it. He did, but his spear was broken. However, reacting quickly, he simply took the spearhead and lunged at her.

'Oh no, I let my guard down." She clenched her eyes and waited for the impact.

"Gomu Gomu No…." The familiar phrase caught her ears and she opened her eyes. "Stamp!" A sandaled foot came flying out of nowhere and caught him right in the face. He went flying back straight into a tree. The foot suddenly retracted back to where it came from.

"Man that was close. Oi, you ok over there?" The voice called over to her.

She turned over to face him. When she saw his face, the smile that suddenly appeared on her spoke volumes. Everything was still there. The scar that seemed to fit him so well, the big toothy grin that always brightened her day no matter how bad she was feeling, and his most defining feature; the straw hat that was with him no matter what. Just by looking at him she could tell that he hadn't changed one bit since she last saw him.

The grin that she so adored was soon replaced with one of shock when he saw just who it was that he had saved. "V-Vivi. Vivi!" He ran up to her smiling bigger than he had ever done. She did the same and the two met in the middle.

"Hey how ya doing?" Luffy said, looking like he always did.

Vivi just smiled and said, "Good. Very good. I finally got the country back in order."

"That's great. So why are you all the way out here?"

"Because I…." Even after everything, she was still nervous about it. However, she was here now, and couldn't turn back if she wanted to. "You said that no matter what happened, we were still nakama right?" She brought her hand over to hold her left arm over the X that they had put on their arms.

"Yea, that's right, no matter what." He said holding up his own tattooed arm.

"And that if we ever met again that I could join you crew right?"

"Yes of course."

"Well, I would like to take you up on that offer."

"Alright! Welcome back Vivi." He took her hand and started running. "Come on the rest of the crew is gonna want to see you."

She smiled and let herself get pulled by her captain.

At the Going Merry)

"Man he sure is late getting back. And considering that it's almost lunch, that's not like him." Usopp looked over the side of the ship and waited for his captain to return with whatever food he could find.

"Eh, don't worry about it. One, he can take care of himself. We all already know that. Two, I doubt that he would miss a meal for anything. Especially one of my meals." The cook said, lighting a cigarette

"Yea, I guess you're right, but still…."

"Just drop it, Usopp." The swordsman called from the other side of the ship.

"Yea, it's the captain. If anything is wrong we would have know it by now. It's not like he is the most subtle person in the world." Nami said.

"True, but long nose-kun does have a point. It's almost lunch time, and considering that he is the one who volunteered to find something, I would think that whatever he finds, he would want to bring back as fast as he can."

Suddenly, the heard a loud shout from the forest. "Oiiiiiiii."

"See there he is now." Nami walked over to the side of the ship. "Luffy did you find some food."

He emerged from the forest. "Even better."

The blue-haired former princess emerged from the forest as well and looked up at the crew"

"Hello, everyone."

I had been thinking about that one for ages. Just how do they meet up. Obviously Luffy would be the first to find her, and then she would meet the rest of the crew. Question is, what about Robin? How will she respond to Robin being on the crew? Let's wait and see.

Meantime, R&R, suggestions, and anything else please.


	7. Welcome Back

Ok Chapter 7 is offically up. Let's Go!

The silence that overtook the crew, even the area, at that moment was one that was filled with a handful of emotions. However, all were washed away in an instant as everyone practically launched themselves off of the boat and around their friend. The only one remaining on the boat at this time was Robin. Not because she didn't know the blue haired princess like everyone else did, but because she knew better than to ruin a moment like this.

On the ground, the questions were being shot around like bullets in a gun fight. "What are you doing here? How is the country? How have you been?" Vivi finally held up a hand, specifically the hand with the x on it, and stopped them. "I'm fine. I'm fine. Alabasta is finally back on its feet and the people are happy.

"Good, that's good, but why are you here? I thought you would be back in your country still." Nami said from her side.

"She is joining us now. This is great. Now we need to find you a job on the ship." Luffy was as excited as ever.

The others were still pondering what he had just said. Usopp was the first to speak up. "Y-y-you are coming back? But what about your country? And your father?"

"They are all fine, and yes I do have some regret about leaving them, but I realized that I really wanted to be with you all more. You have helped me so much, even when you didn't even have a reason to. I wanted to thank you all for what you did.

"It was no problem, Vivi-chwan." Said the love struck cook, who literally had hearts popping out of his eyes.

Chopper was looking at a few of the faded bruises on her arms. "Vivi, what happened? They look like they were from battle."

"Yes, Tony-kun, they are. I was training hard with Chaka so that I could be able to defend myself now."

"And she has. She must be really tough to be able to beat a Tyrannosaurus." Luffy said beaming.

"How did you know that I beat that thing?" Vivi asked slightly confused that he knew that.

"The people that attacked you. They are really protective of the dinosaurs here. Ask Zoro."

The swordsman looked up from where he was standing. "It was a Triceratops. We were looking for some meat to cook and when I killed it, they pounced."

"Yea, and when I saw the dino you decapitated, I figured you were being attacked because of that."

"Oh. I see." She looked around making sure that they weren't being watched.

"Don't worry. They only attack if you kill one when they are there. Otherwise, they leave us alone." The swordsman said.

"Oh, ok."

"This is great. Now the 8 of us can enjoy this vacation together." Luffy said heading to the ship.

"8?" Now Vivi was completely lost. There had only been 6 when she left the crew. 'Maybe they picked up another member while I was in Alabasta. I wonder who they are.'

'She didn't have to wonder long. "Hello there, princess –san."

She looked up at the ship, and became extremely wide-eyed. There, standing on the ship, stood Miss All-Sunday. She immediately went on the defensive. "What are you doing here, you- you-?"

The archaeologist simply let out a small giggle. "It's alright, princess-san. I'm not here to hurt anyone. I am a part of this crew. Sencho-san accepted me."

"What??!!" She turned towards Luffy. "Luffy, are you sure this is ok? I will trust whatever you say no matter what, but do you really think we can trust her?"

The captain's smile faded a little. "Crocodile turned on her. I probably would have died from his poison if she hadn't given me that antidote. On top of all that, she said she wanted to die but I made her live, so as a result she became one of my nakama."

Vivi calmed down a little. When her captain was like this there was no arguing with him. Especially since he actually sounded like a captain when he talked real serious like this.

"I'll tell you what, princess-san." Robin said with a small smile. "Why don't we just sit and talk about it one day. Not right now since we are suppose to be relaxing, according to sencho-san's orders, but sometime after we cast off let's just talk."

Vivi watched her for a while before nodding her head. Even though Luffy said it was alright, she would still keep her guard up around her, at least until she proved that she was really sincere about this. "Very well, Miss A-. Sorry, I suppose I mean Robin?"

"Yes. Nico Robin."

She cringed slightly at the name. She had heard of her; the girl that escaped from the island of Ohara, the girl that, by herself, sunk six Marine battleships. This would be another topic for discussion that could wait till later.

"Oh that's right. Vivi, just how did you get here in the first place?"

Almost as if on cue, a loud shout was heard from the side of the island. "Oiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, Straw Hat Luffy!"

The crew looked over as a large ship made its way around the island. The mark on the sail was that of Alabasta.

"Oiiiiiiiiii, that's me! How can I help you?" Luffy yelled back.

"Have you seen the princess? She has been looking for you!"

"Yea she's here with us right now!"

"Alright then! Men get ready to dock next to the Straw Hat's ship."

"Aye!"

The ship slowly docked next to the Going Merry and the crew exited the ship.

"Oiiiiiiiiiii, curly ossan! What are you doing here?" Luffy was even more excited by the arrival of his favorite curly headed friend, Igaram.

"I a- ahem. Mah Mah Maaaaaaaaaaah. I am here to make sure that Vivi-sama joins you safely. I also come with a message from Cobra-san. He wishes to thank you for all you have done for him and his daughter."

Luffy grew a very confused look on his face. "I'm not sure I understand but tell him it was no problem."

"Hmm. Well I suppose we must be going, then."

"Wait." Nami spoke up. "Since you are here why don't you celebrate with us? We were going to make this a vacation, but instead why don't we turn it into a celebration to a new crew member."

"Nice, Nami." The captain said, obviously excited about the idea.

"Uh, captain, what do you say?" He looked to the captain of his ship.

"I say this will probably be the last time we see Vivi-sama in person, so let's make it a memorable occasion."

Luffy didn't need to be told twice. "Alright, we need to get even more meat now."

"Man, am I gonna feel sorry for the villagers here." Zoro said walking towards the jungle.

"Don't. It's their own fault for getting in the way of a gourmet delicacy." Sanji said also making his way to the jungle.

"I think I'll go, too." Vivi said.

"Alright. Nami, Robin, Usopp, and chopper stay behind and get things ready. Everyone else, including the people from Alabasta, let's go!"

The captain was even more hyped than he had been when he saw Vivi here. That energy passed through the entire group of people that had formed on the beach, punctuated by only one word spoken by everyone. "AYE!"

Ok that is chapter seven. How am I doing so far? I ask this now because I'm not 100 sure about how well I did on this chapter. So please, tell me what i did wrong, what I am doing right, and what could be better. otherwise R&R as always.


	8. Hunting Season

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, children of al- well children of acceptable ages, I give you Chapter 8.

The jungle was quiet. Almost a little too quiet for Zoro's liking. Still, he felt as if he had nothing to worry about. Except for maybe the ones that he was leading into the jungle. Even though he was sure that no matter what they came across, he would be able to take care of it, the last thing he needed was for them to get in trouble while they were on his watch. So before they even really got started, he told them, "Don't do anything stupid. You are only here to help bring whatever I catch back to the ships."

Surprisingly, they were very compliant with him. Almost as if they knew that they wouldn't be of much help to him during this little expedition. One of the soldiers spoke up when he asked about this. "Some of us were there when you fought with Baroque works. We saw some of you fight against their agents, and the princess even told us what she has seen of you. To be perfectly honest, compared to you we don't really pose any sort of threat. So we already decided that we were just gonna stay out of the way and let you work."

Hearing it this way almost made him feel sorry for them. Almost but not quite. Instead he was focused on the Stegosaurus that had appeared before him. "Stand back and keep an eye out for the villagers." He looked at the dino and thought about just how he wanted to go about it. 'Can't cut it up too bad. The love cook might get angry." He took out all of his swords and got in position to attack.

"Oni…" The dino was coming dangerously close, flailing its spiked tail around in the air. The soldiers were starting to get worried, but continued to watch the swordsman.

"Giri!" Suddenly he slashed with all three swords at the dino. The dino stood frozen for three seconds before falling, a few deep cuts in its side.

The soldiers, at first amazed by what they had just seen, quickly became aware of their surroundings. The villagers were going to be attacking soon. Sure enough, moments later they came. However, they were quickly rendered unconscious by the soldiers.

"Good job. Now let's get this guy back to the ship." Said the swordsman sheathing his swords.

In another part of the jungle, the next group of soldiers were following the blond haired cook. He was on his third cigarette since entering the jungle, and the soldiers were beginning to wonder just how much the man smoked in a single day.

They didn't have long to wonder though, as the next group of dinos, a small pack of raptors, approached them. The cook took one look at them and smiled. "I've never had the pleasure of cooking one of your kind before, but I think I can make an excellent stew out of you." Finishing his cig, he attacked. There were about six raptors and all of them were down within three seconds.

Right on cue, the attack started, only this time there was only one villager. This one, however, looked different from the others.

Sanji immediately noticed this. "Stand back. This one is mine. Get them ready to go back." He walks up to the villager as the soldiers take the raptors back to the ships.

The villager attacks, but Sanji dodges easily. He keeps on attacking, showing some skill in his attacks, but nothing that Sanji can't handle. "You are probably one of the best warriors in your tribe, but you can't take me out with skills like that." He lashed out one kick and sent his spear flying away.

"Now feel the product of my years of culinary practice." He set his body for the attack.

"Mouton Shoot." He pivoted on his right foot and sent a straight kick into the villager's chest. The villager was sent straight back into the jungle.

He stood straight, lit another cig, and headed back to the ship

Vivi had been pondering something ever since she had met up with the crew, and surprisingly it had nothing to do with the acceptance of Robin into the crew. No, it was this jungle. So far the dinosaurs that they had come across had always attacked first, as if they were intruding on their territory. However when they killed one of them, the villagers were immediately on them. So why did the villagers feel the need to protect the dinosaurs so much? Was there some sort of unspoken mutual agreement between the two parties? And if so what was it?

The soldiers saw this. They already knew this side of her too well. They already knew to leave her to her thoughts, as she would usually get mad if she was interrupted while thinking.

Her thoughts were broken when she came up to a triceratops, which was digging its leg into the ground, getting ready to charge. The soldiers' first instinct was to immediately step in front of her and protect her. Of course, the moment they did that she would probably begin yelling at them for that. So they stayed behind and looked for the villagers.

Vivi had already released her strings and was staring down the dino. "Charge all you want, but you will be making my job easier."

The dino still charged, and Vivi sighed. "Peacock bullet." The string shot straight forward, pierced the dino straight between the horns, and came out the back of the tri horned dino. The dino was stopped, literally dead in its tracks. Vivi then retracted her strings and the dinosaur fell to the ground.

After the villagers were dispatched, the soldiers carried the dino back while Vivi returned to her thoughts.

Luffy would have been content to go back to where he found Vivi and taking the dino she killed back with him. That was the plan when he started with the soldiers, who were quickly beginning to wonder if this was a good thing for the princess to do. This man did not look like a man that could defeat one of the Shichikubai. He was extremely childish and far too relaxed. But Vivi trusted him so they would trust her

Any way that was the case, but they had just run into an even bigger one half an hour into the exploration. The captain was absolutely ecstatic.

"Woooooow! That is huuuuuuuuuge." Completely oblivious to the fact that it was starting to attack. However once it tried to step on him he was ready for it. "Gomu Gomu No Fuusen (balloon)." He inflated his body and the dinos foot bounced right off of him, sending its reeling back. "Man, you really are a grumpy one aren't you?" Luffy said with his completely clueless stare.

The dino regained its balance and tried again for the attack. This time the captain dodged to the side. Then he stretched his arms and grabbed its head. "Gomu Gomu No Rocket." He launched himself up over the dino and set up for the kill shot, shooting his foot as high as he could. "Gomu Gomu No Ono (axe)." He brought it down against the dinos neck, killing it on the spot. The villagers were on them the moment he landed.

Luffy didn't waste any time. "Oi, you soldiers, you might wanna duck." He brought his leg up. The soldiers froze for a second before dropping down. "Gomu Gomu No Muchi (whip)." He brought his leg across the side of the villagers, sending them flying to the side. His leg came right back to him and he turned to the dino. "Alright let's get back to the party!"

And just like that, any doubts about this guy in the minds of the soldiers were washed away.

Ok, ladies and gentlemen. That's chapter 8. A little action here and there but I kinda like it. Hope you do to, so please R&R.


	9. Let's Party

Ok, here it is. Chapter 9

Nami was almost done with her part of the decorating. The problem is that the last ribbon was to be put in sort of an awkward spot. So when she climbed over to the spot, she quickly saw that she would probably end up back on the deck if she tried to tighten down the ribbon. However, she was a part of the straw hat crew, which gave her access to certain utilities.

"Hey, Robin. Can you give me a hand up here? Or should I say a few hands?"

Robin giggles lightly before sprouting a few hands on Nami's body and making them grab the mast to hold her steady.

'Man, we've been together for so long yet I still can get used to that.' "Thank you."She finished tying down the last ribbon and climbed down from the mast.

Elsewhere, Usopp and Chopper had been putting out the last of the tables and chairs that the Alabastan crew had with them, though they were unsure just why they had so many. "Oi, Chopper. Do you think they were expecting to have a party or something, you?"

The blue nosed reindeer simply shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe Vivi planned it that way and maybe not, but I don't really care. Vivi is coming back to us."

"Yea I suppose you have a point." Usopp placed the last of the chairs with its designated table. "Alright. We're done here. Let's go see if Igaram needs help with anything."

Igaram was currently barking out some orders to the other crewmen. They were moving quite fast, a lot faster than one would expect. Obviously, they were adamant about making sure that Vivi's sending off was as good as it could be. One way or another, she was leaving with a smile on her face.

"Oiiiiiiii, Igaram. How are things going on your end? Anything that we can help with?" Usopp yelled from the ground up to him.

"Tha- Mah Mah Maaaaaaaaaaah. Thank you there, but we are almost done anyway." He was almost right, too. By the time he was finished speaking, they had already lined up. "Mission complete, sir."

"Very well. Go ahead and change over. The party starts once everyone else gets back." Igaram walked off the ship to the pirates. "Is Robin still on the ship? I would like to have a word with her, if that's ok."

"Uh, sure. I think she's still up there somewhere." Usopp looked up to the ship.

Igaram nodded and walked over to the Going Merry. He climbed aboard and looked around for her.

"Oh, hello there. Can I help you?" The red haired navigator called from her grove.

"Yes, I am looking for Miss Robin."

"Oh she should be up there on the bow deck."

"Thank you." He walked up the stairway towards the front of the ship. Sure enough Robin was sitting in her lawn chair, reading. He slowly walked up to her, her back to him. He was standing a few feet behind her. He was about to speak up when she did it for him. "I wasn't the second best operative in Baroque Works by letting people sneak up on me without my knowledge."

Needless to say, he was rather surprised. "How did you-?"

"I ate the Hana Hana no mi. I can sprout any part of my body on any surface." She held up her book to reveal an eye resting rather naturally on a page of the book.

"Hmm." He watched the eye disappear and then continued to watch her.

"You are being very cautious right now. You still don't trust me do you?"

"You nearly sacked our country, and you tried to kill me. I think I have a right to be a little bit cautious."

"I'm not saying that you shouldn't. For all you know I could still be deceiving everyone here. Just setting everyone up so that I can take over where Crocodile left off."

This actually caused him to tense up in fear for a few seconds, until she broke out in to a light laugh

"Don't worry, curly-san. I don't plan on stabbing the man that saved my life in the back. The man that made me live when I didn't want to."

"Yes, Cobra told me so."

"Well there is another reason for me joining, no staying, with this crew. He has revived my dream."

"I don't think I understand."

"I'm sure Cobra has told you what I am looking for. I had been searching for the Rio Poneglyph ever since I could read them. Alabasta was the only lead I had and it proved to be a false lead. I was content to simply die in that tomb, but he made me live. When we went to Skypiea I found another poneglyph, and a clue towards reaching my dream. Now, with a renewed resolve, I move forward towards my dream, and towards helping sencho-san reach his goal, because he is the reason that I am here today."

Igaram could only stare in awe of her. Behind all of the cruelty and all of the maliciousness that she showed in Alabasta, there was a real human being. Well one that could sprout any number of body parts she wanted anywhere she wanted. "I… I … You have earned my trust. I am now comfortable with leaving Vivi with you."

She simply gave her trademark laugh and turned toward him. "Well, I am glad that you think so, but let us conclude this conversation now." She closed her book and stood. "The princess is on her way back and I believe navigator-san will want us to hide right about…."

"Alright everyone, find somewhere to hide." Everyone went to various places around the area, making sure that they were out of sight.

"Eye Fleur." A few dozen eyes sprouted in the area in places where Robin could see everything, but where they could be easily hidden. "Now we wait."

Vivi was still lost in her own thoughts, which had decided to turn back to Robin, when they made their return to the ships. Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy had already returned with their own catches and were waiting for her.

She immediately picked up on the fact that no one was around the ships, and bean to look around for someone. "Hey, where did everyone go?"

Luffy was wearing a big toothy grin on his face, but she passed that off, as that was something he always did. Sanji also had one on as well, but she was used to that with him so it didn't mean much. However, the slight grin that the swordsman had alerted her that something was up. "Ok you guys what's going on?"

"Now!" Luffy called.

"Usopp Wagomu (rubber band)." Usopp fired his rubber band. It flew a good two feet from where he was standing.

"Aww, I was sure that it would work this time." The guys weren't amused.

"USOPP!" Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro all yelled at him.

"What? Oh, right." He took out his slingshot and took aim.

"Hissatsu Party Pachinko Stars!" Usopp shot three of his pachinko balls at the ribbons that held up the giant banner, which hung on the mast of the Merry. It unraveled to reveal a giant banner with the words 'Welcome Back' in giant letters on it. Afterwards, everyone jumped from their hiding places to yell out. "SURPRISE!"

Vivi was at first shocked and then became very happy, almost to tears. The soldiers started passing out drinks and the straw hat captain spoke up. "Alright, in honor of our newest crew member, let's party!"

Everyone, with the exception of Usopp who was on the ground nursing a rather large bump he had on his head, courtesy to Nami's fist, yelled in agreement, "AYE!"

Ok I had to watch an episode to remember how Usopp's attack was spelled and I saw the rubber band in it, so I just had to put it in as a little comic relief. Hope you like it. If you need to, look up episode 191. It has quite possibly the funniest moment of that arc.


	10. To a Returning Nakama

Ok you all wanted it, and here it is. What is it? Read the 10th chapter to find out.

Any normal cook would have probably croaked under the pressure of having to cook so much food in a short amount of time, considering the limited resources that were at his disposal. Even if they had Alabasta's best kitchen that could be put in a ship, the sheer amount of meat that was being asked to be cooked in any and all ways possible would be enough to make any normal cook feel like he had the weight of the world placed upon his shoulders.

Fortunately, Sanji wasn't just any cook. He looked at this as a challenge that he was completely ready to tackle. The more meat that he made the longer that the party could go. And he was determined to make it go as long as he could.

Outside, the party was rolling along with no signs of stopping anytime soon. Each of the crew members were having the time of their lives.

In one corner, Chopper was sharing some of his vast medical secrets with the doctors of the Alabastan crew.

"After that, you just replace the bandage every week, make sure he doesn't move it around too much, and he should be fine in no time."

"Wow, I didn't think that something like that was possible. You really are one amazing little reindeer aren't you?"

"Shut up, asshole. Just because you compliment me and call me a reindeer instead of a deer, that doesn't me I am going to be happy." Unfortunately, his body said a different thing

"You look pretty happy to us." The docs said, sweat-dropping.

The swordsman was with a few of the soldiers teaching them a few of his basic moves.

Although they did appreciate the moves, they could not help the fact that the man had just downed about twenty beers in a row and was still standing.

"Dude, how is he still conscious after all of the alcohol he just put into his body?" "I don't know and I don't care. I can't wait to try out this new move."

Nami was also having her fair share of fun; however hers was at the expense of the soldiers. She had started a little gambling booth in her little corner of the party, and the drunken soldiers gladly accepted any game she threw at them. Unfortunately, they always ended up on the losing end of the gambling stick and Nami continued to bring in the money.

Usopp had also started a booth, only his was set atop of a stack on tables and chairs. Yes ladies and gentlemen, it was time for more "Tales of the Great Captain Usopp."

Sanji, of course, was coming in and out of the kitchen with food stacked to the ceiling perfectly balanced on his arms. Every now and then he would stop to 'enjoy the party', although that consisted of participating in some of the navigators games, which he would gratefully lose.

The Captain was having the time of his life, as if he didn't do so any other time. An eating contest had gotten started and of course Luffy just had to get involved. The contest had barely even begun and the other contestants were already done, while Luffy was still going faster than ever. The crowd was all cheering him on, including the archaeologist and the former princess.

After than the Captain grabbed himself a drink and stretched his way on to the Merry. "Oiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, everyone listen up."

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at him

"Before we all get too drunk to remember, I thought that I would say a few things. First off great party. I liked it. We had a lot of meat."

Everyone laughed at this. Typical.

"Secondly, I would like to say a few words to our returning nakama."

Vivi blushed.

"We we last sailed off the shores of Alabasta; you asked us if we were to meet again on the grand line, would we still accept you as nakama. And I wanted so badly to simply scream out my answer, but with the Marines on us, I simply couldn't"

She remembered it well. When they didn't answer her at first it nearly destroyed her to think that they wouldn't take her back.

"But then I remembered. I remembered that we all made a pact, a pact that we sealed with this." He held up his left arm and revealed the X that was still tattooed on it.

"With the exception of Robin, we all swore that this X would mean that no matter what, we were still nakama. Me, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Chopper, and Sanji all held up our arms to show you that we would allow you to come back."

And now you have. I know that we have already told you this before but now I want to make it official. Vivi, the Straw Hat Pirates gladly welcome you back!" He held up his drink. "To a returning nakama!"

"To Vivi!" Everyone held up their drinks in a toast and drank. Vivi was on her knees, in tears.

"That's sencho-san for you. Can't do anything unless it is done right." The archaeologist kneeled down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"That- That idiot. He didn't have to go through all of this just for me." She said stumbling over her words.

The archaeologist simply smiled. 'Like I said, that's sencho-san."

The party lasted until deep into the night, and it slowly died down until there were unconscious bodies sprawled out everywhere. The only one left awake was Vivi. She walked around the area looking at everyone while they slept. This had been quite possibly the best party she had ever been a part of, punctuated by the fact that it was all for her.

After a while she walked to the Going Merry and climbed aboard. She was about to head to the women's quarters and sleep. Instead, something caught her eye.

That something was sitting on the headpiece of the ship. His back was to her, and he appeared to be simply staring out over the ocean. Slightly worried she walked up to him. "Luffy-san?"

He turned back, apparently surprised. "Oh, hey Vivi. What are you doing still up?"

"I was just about to head to the room and go to sleep when I saw you sitting here. Why are you still up?"

"Uhhhh, you know that is a good question. I don't even know myself."

She smiled and leaned against the railing next to him. "Luffy-san-"

"No! It's just Luffy, ok?"

"Oh, ok then. Luffy, I wanted to thank you for what you said earlier tonight. You didn't really have to do all of that for me though."

"Why not? You are a member of my crew. I only want my crew to be happy."

"I know, but still I didn't really deserve that."

"Of course you did. You are rejoining the crew, and everyone was here. Besides, I was completely stuffed full of meat and beer at the time, so I doubt that I would be able to string together that many words in a meaningful series like that now.

"But-" He held a hand up to stop her.

"Vivi you deserved it. End of story."

She decided to give up on it. "I never really got the chance to thank you for helping me with Alabasta. No that's not true. You pretty much did everything for me."

"First off, you did thank us for it. Secondly, we wouldn't have done anything if you didn't want to save your country with all your heart. What would have been the point of it if you didn't want us to right?"

"I see. But no, I meant you Luffy. Everyone helped out a whole lot, but you were the driving force behind that. If it hadn't been for you I don't think that any of that would have been possible. So thank you, Luffy." She leaned in and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

He brought his hand up to feel the spot where she kissed him. He wasn't completely sure about what had just happened, but he knew that he liked it a lot. "Well, I guess you're welcome."

She smiled. "Good night, sencho." She walked to the women's quarters after knocking Sanji out of the way once again. A sober Sanji was a smothering gentleman. A drunken Sanji was a downright pervert. She climbed in bed and drifted off.

Ok there ya go. A little hint of the Vivi/Luffy deal. I hope you all liked it. If you didn't please tell me what I did wrong.


	11. Final Farewell

Back by popular demand, chapter 11 is now up.

For just about everyone that was present, morning had come far too early. They needed at least another few days before they could be fully prepared to go their separate ways.

But unfortunately, the straw hats had stayed stationary long enough and now needed to get back on track, and with the Marines not too far behind, the last thing they needed was to be seen with a ship from Alabasta.

So, the entire crew of that ship had gotten in formation in front of the Going Merry to bid farewell one last time to their former princess. The rest of the straw hats were on the Merry waiting for her to say her goodbyes to everyone.

The girl in question was coming back from loading the rest of her stuff on to the ship. She walked up to Igaram, who was currently standing in front of the formation of Alabastan soldiers, and smiled.

"Well Igaram, this is it. I'm going now. And this time I won't be coming back, and you can't hide in the bushes to watch me anymore."

"I ne- ahem. Mah mah maaaaaaaaaaaah. I never needed to. You were, are, a very strong girl who knows how to take care of herself. Besides, that job is going to be passed on to them." He looked up at the crew.

"Yea, I suppose so. You remember what I wanted you to do right?"

"Of course Vivi-sama." He held out the letter that was to be addressed to the people of her country when it did get out that she was a pirate.

"Good, then everything should be in good order now."

Igaram held up his empty hand. "Vivi-sama, you are a pirate now. There is no need to worry about anything like that anymore. We can handle everything."

She looked up at him, and slowly nodded. "Igaram, thank you for everything. I was probably the cause of all of your biggest headaches when I was younger. I got into more trouble than any one girl could have possibly gotten into. But no matter what, you were always there for me. Even when I wanted to infiltrate Baroque Works, you were still there, making sure that I didn't get into more than I could handle. I can't even imagine how I could possibly pay you back for all of this." Igaram stopped her.

"Vivi-sama, throughout all of the time that we have been together, the only thing that I had asked of you is that you followed your heart in whatever you did. Even though I had my initial reservations about you trying to stop Baroque Works, once I saw that it was what you truly in your heart what you wanted to do, I followed you without hesitation. I see that same determination in you now that you are ready to go with them. I could care less what it is that you do, as long as you do it with all of your heart into it that is all that I could ever ask for in return."

Vivi looked on the verge of tears but held them back. She had done enough crying already and she was gonna stop it right now. "Thank you, Igaram. I hope that we can meet again someday." She moved forward and gave him probably the last hug she would ever give him.

"Oiiiiiiii, Vivi, let's go." The captain called from the ship.

Vivi smiled at this. "Aye, sencho." She turned back to the crew of Alabasta. "Thank you all for what you have done. I won't forget you."

The entire crew responded with a salute. "It was our pleasure Vivi-sama."

She walked to the Merry and climbed aboard. "Alright everyone. Let's set sail." Luffy called out to everyone.

"Aye!" The entire crew began to make preparations and soon, the mainsail was down and the ship was heading out for the next island.

Igaram watched them until they were out of sight and then headed back to his ship. "Captain, set a course for home."

Back in Alabasta)

Kohza was sitting in his room, waiting for any news on the item that he had requested. He had done a little research on it and found that it was actually found here in this country. The only problem was that it was heavily guarded by some of the most dangerous beasts to roam the Alabastan sea of sand. Many had tried to claim it but only a small fraction of that number actually made it back, none successful.

Failure would not be an option for Kohza. Not if he planned on going up against the straw hat bastard that took Vivi away from him. Even now it still made his blood boil that she preferred that no good pirate over him. He had known her ever since she was little. He defended her against those bullies and vice versa. He was the one that she had hung out with growing up. And then while the country was in utter turmoil, he just comes along and snatches her away from him.

What did that bastard have that he didn't? A pirate crew? He was in charge of the whole entire rebel army, and before that his friends still numbered more than them. The power of a devil fruit? So what? Did that make him any better than anyone else at sea?

So what was it? What could have possibly made Vivi feel the need to go out to sea and rejoin him once again? What was it that made her decide to leave her own country, her position as princess, future queen, of the greatest country on the grand line just to become a pirate with that straw hat bastard?

It was a question that had been keeping him awake at night. The one thought that made him turn his sword on the king, the man that he had all of the respect in the world for at one time but lost it when he found out about his role in her leaving. It was a question that he needed to be answered, and he was gonna get one, whether she wanted to give it or not.

"Kohza!" One of his crewmates yelled from outside of his tent. "Kohza, we found it!"

"Bring it in here now."

"The man walked into the tent and placed it on the table before Kohza. "How did you get pass them?"

"The beasts were vicious but not very bright. Once we lured them away from the cave, one of us simply made a mad dash for it. He got it and the instant he emerged, the beasts were on him. Fortunately he tossed it to us before they got to him. His sacrifice is what caused us to have this."

"I see. Then he will be given the proper memorial service soon. But for now-" Kohza looked down at the item that was brought back to him.

"So this is it. The rarest one of its kind. That means that it is the most powerful one as well. I can't wait to see what it does."

The evil smiled that crossed his face spoke volumes. "Get ready straw hat." He picked up his prize; A devil fruit.

I hope you guys weren't surprised at this. You had to have seen this one coming.

Ok so the ending isn't as good as I'm sure it could be, but I hope you all like the chapter. Once again if not R&R

P.S. Can someone tell me what i am doing right here? I haven't had one bad review and this is only my first story ever. SO someone help me out here.


	12. Vivi and Robin The Talk

Ok to be perfectly honest I didn't expect this story to get past Chapter 5, and now here I am back with Chapter 12. That is awesome.

Vivi walked out on to the deck the next morning to see a scene that she had gotten all too used to during her first time with the straw hats. Luffy and Usopp were chasing Carue around the entire ship, with Nami viciously yelling at them to stop, Zoro and Sanji were in another corner having another fight over something that, to anyone else, would've seen very stupid, and Chopper was in the back of the ship talking to a few of the fish about any dangers that might inhabit the nearby seas.

Still, something was out of place. She couldn't quite center just what it was that made this picture seem a little off, until she saw the archaeologist sitting on a lawn chair in the front of the ship, reading a book. They had decided to talk about everything sooner or later, and she figured that the sooner that they had this talk, the easier it would be to be on the same ship as the woman.

She started walking towards the front of the ship, and in turn caught the attention of the blonde haired cook. "Vivi-chwan. Is there anything you need, mellorine?" The hearts were literally pouring out of him.

"No, Sanji-kun, it's fine. I'm not hungry right now." She smiled at him and continued walking.

"Ah, Vivi-chwan is so cute when she isn't hungry." This was making Zoro more and more sick.

"I'm not hungry either, so does that make me cute as well, blondie?"

"What did you just say, marimo?"

"I don't think I stuttered."

And with that, the feet and the swords started flying.

Meanwhile Vivi had worked her way past the cat and mouse game between Luffy, Usopp, and Carue and went up the stairs to the bow deck. She walked up to Robin. "Hey."

The archaeologist looked up from her book with a smile on her face. "Hello there, princess-san. How are you doing this morning?"

"Ok, I guess. I'll get right to the chase. The talk you and me were supposed to have?"

"You would like to have it right now?" The archaeologist closed her book. "Very well then, but first let me grab you a chair so that we can be a little more comfortable." And using her Hana Hana powers, she passed a chair from the ladies room to where Vivi was standing.

Vivi sat down and took a deep breath. "Ok I suppose we can start with the fact that you were with Crocodile, and that you were helping him to take down my coun-. I mean Alabasta."

The archaeologist caught this little slip. "Hmm, didn't you want to say your country? So why didn't you?"

"It's not my country anymore. I had to sever any ties I had to my country so that they wouldn't be abused by the world when I got out that I was with you."

"I see, but still just because officially, as far as the world is concerned, it isn't your country anymore, that doesn't mean that you can't call it your country. You will always be from the kingdom of Alabasta, and no one can take that away from you."

Vivi smiles weakly. She did have a point there. "Thanks, I guess."

"But back to the original conversation. You are right. I did help Crocodile try to take over your country, but it was not because I wanted to help him rule the seas. To be perfectly honest, back then I could have cared less who or what got hurt. All I wanted was to accomplish my dream."

"Your dream?"

"To find the Rio Poneglyph."

"The Rio Poneglyph. Wait, does that mean that you can actually read them?"

"That is correct, princess-san. Crocodile said there was one in Alabasta, and it was the only lead to the Rio Poneglyph that I had. Crocodile said that it was suppose to have information about Pluton, a kind of super-weapon. But I never had any intention of giving it to him."

"So, how did you end up with Luffy-san?"

Robin looked over at the captain, who was currently getting choked by Nami. "Sencho-san fought with Crocodile, three times actually. It was amazing, because he only learned from his past battles with him and eventually found a way to defeat him. He had been poisoned by Crocodile during the fight and probably wouldn't have even made it out of the tomb if I hadn't given him the antidote."

Vivi had been listening silently to the older woman's story.

"I had lost my will to live after I had come up short on finding the Rio Poneglyph once again. I would have been happy if I died in that tomb. But it was not to be. I wasn't sure whether he wanted to repay me for saving him, or if he simply wanted to save me, but in the end he brought me with him and Cobra out of there. Like I said I wanted to die there, but he made me live. Therefore I told him that since he made me live against my will, he had no choice but to let me join the crew. Surprisingly, he let me join without hesitation."

Vivi smiled again. Typical Luffy. Then a dark thought entered her mind.

"Wait, who is to say that you won't turn on him the moment your dream is in hand? After all, you did it to Crocodile, right?"

"True, princess-san, I have done this with just about every single organization I have been with. Once they outlive their usefulness, I dump them just like that. However there is one major difference between them and him." The captain continued his chase with Carue.

"And what is that?"

"He doesn't ask anything of me. He doesn't want anything from me. As long as his crew is happy, he cares about nothing else. I respect him for that, and I have decided to follow him until I achieve my goal, and until I help him achieve his."

"Wait, I thought you said that you had lost all hope of-" Robin cut her off.

"When we went to Skypiea we found another poneglyph. It had information on another deadly super-weapon, but also inscribed on top of it was a message from Gol D. Roger. In short, it said that all of the poneglyphs had to be chained together in order to ascertain the location of the Rio Poneglyph. So now, with a renewed spirit and new life, I am searching for my dream once again."

"I- I see." She held her head down. "I'm sorry I doubted you, doubted Luffy-san. You and Crocodile caused so much grief for my country, and I can never forget that. So many died when none of them had to." A quick flash back of all of the people that either died or were seriously injured flashed through her mind, ending with the scene of Pell flying away with Baroque Work's bomb in tow, and then disappearing in a gigantic explosion. "You can understand my reasoning right?"

"Of course I can. I would have felt the same way. I know that nothing I say can ease that pain, but for whatever it is worth, I am sorry for what I caused back then."

Vivi only nodded. "Thank you again for talking with me like this."

"Sure, princess-san."

Vivi smiled again and stood. "Well, I'll see ya around." She walked over to the captain, who was now being attacked by Carue and Nami this time.

Robin smiled and returned to her book.

Whew, now that was a good one. At least I hope it was. That is for you to decide, so please R&R.

Be back with 13 soon.

P.S. I have another story up if anyone would like to read it. It is called Aftermath.


	13. The Hyena Returns Vivi is Discovered

Chapter 13. Let's go. I am also changing one thing from the anime so please bear with me.

Somewhere within the unforgiving seas of the grand line, a moderately sized ship trudged along the restless waters. There was no pirate insignia on the sail, nor was there a Jolly Roger on the mast.

The lone inhabitant of that ship was currently laying in one of the beds in the ships bedroom. He was nursing a few wounds back to health, including a large wound from a sword, and a nearly shattered jaw.

Bellamy had been lucky that he was spared his life back in mock town. By all accounts, he should have been dead long ago, but he had been spared, only because his former captain said he wasn't even worth wasting the energy over. Instead he was left there to rot. However, Bellamy wasn't going to simply lie down and take this without getting his revenge.

"I don't care how long it takes me. I will find you, straw hat, and I will have my revenge."

"So you want to find him as well?" came a voice from outside his door.

"Huh? Who are you? What do you want?"

"Relax; I am here to present you with an offer, as well as a chance for revenge." The voice said with an evil laugh.

"Oh, really? Tell me all about it." He said standing up and opening the door, and coming face to face with Kohza.

The Going Merry)

Vivi sat in the crow's nest, looking out over the sea in anticipation of the next island. She had to admit that even though this was the grand line, the most dangerous sea in the world, she could really get used to living on it like this.

The captain was also looking out over the sea, albeit from his favorite spot. Nami was putting the finishing touches on her latest map, complimenting herself on her hard work. Sanji and Zoro were off in another corner of the ship engaging in yet another pointless battle. Chopper and Usopp were catching up on a few things with Carue. And, of course, Robin was in her favorite chair reading yet another book.

It wasn't the same old hectic, wild, crazy day that she was used to having while she was with them, but it did give her a chance to relax a little more.

"Oiiiiiiii, Vivi. Can you see the next island yet?" Luffy yelled up to her.

"No, Luffy. It is still a good 2 days before we get to the next island."

"Ah, man. That's no fun." This frightened just about everyone on the ship.

"Oh, no. Luffy is getting bored now, you know what that means." Whispered Usopp to the doctor.

"Yea, but what can we do? There isn't another island around."

Fortunately, something to hold the captain's attention came sailing up to them. It was a pirate ship. The Jolly Roger had a pair of scimitars, instead of bones, crossed behind the skull. This would explain the fact that the ship's crew carried only scimitars.

"Oiiiiiiii, you are straw hat Luffy, the man with a head worth 100,000,000 belli, right?"

"Yea, that's me."

"Alright men, attack!" The men jumped from ship to ship and started to attack them.

"Alright, now we get to have some fun." Luffy jumped from his position and right into the fray. "Gomu Gomu No Gatling Gun." The fists started flying at them and he easily took out quite a few of them by herself.

Zoro and Sanji, intrigued by the sudden activity, came to the front and into the fray as well. "Oi, love cook, you think you can handle me not kicking your ass for a little bit?"

"Don't worry, sword boy, we will finish this and get back to our business in about…"

In unison they said, "2 minutes."

"Zoro drew one of his swords and worked his way into the middle of the crowd. "Heh, not one of you can take me, not even all of you, yet you pride yourselves on being a crew of swordsmen? Pathetic." A second sword was drawn by Zoro as he set up for the attack. "Nitōryuu Tatsumaki! (Tornado) He made a strong tornado that sent most of them flying overboard.

Sanji had been fighting of others in another section of the ship, specifically the side that Nami was on. He kicked and kicked and kicked anyone that got close to her. "Yay, go Sanji-kun." Sanji turned for a second, hearts popping out of everywhere they could "Aye, Nami-swaaaan."

Usopp was running around everywhere, acting scared and nervous, and trying not to get slashed. However, once he got into position he began his barrage of long range attacks, making sure that the Merry wouldn't be on the receiving end of them. Chopper was with him, fighting off anyone that came close with his heavy point transformation.

Robin was actually still sitting in her chair reading her book. Every time some of them would try to attack her, she would simply grow some hands and toss them overboard. However one of them tripped on the stairs and fell down. He lost his grip on his sword and it was sent sailing into Robin's chair, cutting off one of the legs. She fell down and got back up with pure evil in her face. "Seis Fleur…" Six hands sprouted on the guy and grabbed him in certain places. "Clutch!" He was bent backwards at a very uncomfortable angle. When the others saw this they ran away from her faster than they ever have.

Meanwhile, Vivi had come down from the crow's nest and began to fight as well. She took out her strings and began whipping as many of them as she could.

Sure enough, two minutes later, the battle was over. The pirates ran off in their ship and that was that.

Unfortunately, that little battle allowed a Marine ship to catch up with them. The captain of the ship spoke up. "Now we have you straw ha-." He was cut off when he caught sight of a familiar face. "P-Princess Vivi. What are you doing here?"

She was about to start explaining when he cut her off. "It's ok, I know. They must be holding you hostage for some reason right? Men, Get the princess back.

They were about to, too, but Vivi had other plans. "Peacock Slam!" She brought her string straight up and brought it down against the ship, splitting it in two. The crew was scattered all over and now were floating in the ocean.

"Wh- what was that about?" the Marine captain asked"

"I am now a pirate and a member of this crew. I will not go back with you." She smiled a little. "Sorry about your ship, but you are Marines. You can get out of this one alive right?" She stuck out her tongue. "Later." She walked to the front of the ship and soon it was sailing away

"Grrr, put out a new bounty request as soon as we hit land. Princess Vivi has become a pirate, and she has attacked a Marine officer. She will be punished for this." A thought occurred to her. "But first, we need to have a talk with her father."

Chapter 13 R&R please.


	14. Vivi's Will

Sorry, it took me a while to get this one up. Things have been a little crazy here on my end. But here it is. Chapter 14.

News on the grand line was a funny thing. It had the amazing ability to travel like a flock of birds heading to the south for the winter. Some news, like Monkey D. Luffy's incredibly high bounty or the defeat of Crocodile, one of the Shichibukai, was expected to reach a good number of eyes and ears in a short amount of time. Others, like Luffy's defeat of the 55million belli big time rookie Bellamy the Hyena, would get around but no one would really care since no one really knew who Bellamy was in the first place. So the fact that Vivi being in the straw hat pirates was undoubtedly going to spread across the sea like wild fire. And the reaction from the people of that same sea was no less expected.

Almost on cue, ships from various world leaders sailed into the sandy docks of Alabasta to question said pirate's father. The Marine presence could also be felt in this place as well. Each one of them lined up behind King Cobra's palace doors to see the King.

And each and every one of them got the same answer. "I had no knowledge pertaining to where my daughter was going. I will explain everything to you in a little while, because I am announcing a conference between me and the heads of all parties present. It will commence in one hour inside the main conference room of this palace. My front guards will escort you to the room when it is time, but for now I ask that you please leave me."

By the time the conference was ready to begin, every seat in the room had been filled. There had even been a few people actually standing as well.

"As you all know, my daug-. No I cannot call her my daughter any more. Vivi has been found in the company of pirates, specifically, the straw hat pirates, whose bounty, to date, is 160 million belli. When she was questioned by the Marine captain that found her, she was reported to have attacked the ship, splitting it in two, leaving the crew of that ship stranded.

"Personally, I still can't believe that something like this had happened in my family. I had thought that she would have grown up like a normal princess and eventually take over as the leader of this nation when it was my time to step down. But apparently it was not to be.

"As it is well known, the kingdom of Drum had recently been freed of its oppression from the tyrannical Wapol. Vivi said she was originally leaving to help out with any problem that might have arisen since his fall. It was a highly believable story so I let her go. I can only assume that she sank the ship she was in when she found the straw hats.

"I have done the only thing that I could think to do in this situation. I have cut Vivi from the family name, thereby eliminating any support she thought she might have from this country. She is now on her own, and she is no longer my daughter." That last part was far more difficult for Cobra to say than he had thought it would be. True it is easy to rehearse a speech and tell yourself, 'This is what I will say.' However when it comes right down to it, nothing can prepare you for what will happen to you emotionally when it comes time to actually say it.

After a few question that he gave a few half conscious answers to, the collected party of inquisitors stood and left. At this point he called Igaram and Chaka over to give them a message. "Go into town and tell every one of the citizens of this city to gather together. I will be giving a speech pertaining to Vivi." They both bowed their heads and headed out.

Cobra leaned back into his chair and pulled out the letter that she had given Igaram, who in turn gave it to him. He hadn't even opened it out of respect for her words and decided that he would find out when they would.

Once they were sure that the visitors had left the dock, the crowd began to gather together in front of the palace. The den den mushis had been placed and the speakers were on. All that was left was for the king to come out and begin his explanation. And a few minutes later, he did just that.

"As you all have found out, Vivi has indeed left this country to become a pirate." His voice boomed throughout the entire city. "Now, contrary to what I may have told the people that came here today, I was fully away of the fact that she was leaving to do this. In fact, I even supplied her with the means to find them."

This statement caused a confused murmur to start within the gathering, but Cobra held up a hand to silence them. "While I probably could give an explanation as to why she would do such a thing, I think it would be wiser to simply let her do that." The murmur got louder. "This," he held up the letter, "is a letter from Vivi. I was instructed to read it to you when it got out that she was indeed a pirate."

The crowd got silent in anticipation of what Vivis final words would be to them. Cobra opened the letter and began to read the page.

"People of the country of Alabasta, I am Vivi, formerly princess of that nation.

"Ever since I was old enough, I always told you to follow your hearts no matter what you do. Otherwise there is no real point in doing anything. No matter what the case may be, as long as you follow your heart and do what it tells you, then I was happy.

"So one day I woke up and decided to take my own advice for a change. For a while, my heart was here with you and this country. But then, I was walking through the streets and I discovered that my heart was somewhere else, telling me to go somewhere else. Not to say that it wasn't still here, just that my heart was telling me to go somewhere else.

"That somewhere else was, is, the sea. It wanted me to go out and have adventures again. It wanted me to go out and see new sights, to meet new people, to visit new islands. But most important of all, my heart is telling me to be with the people that, in the short time that I was with them, I came to call not only nakama, but family.

"To those of you who think me selfish, then I am sorry. It is just that I preached following your heart for so long, that I would seem like a hypocrite if I didn't do it myself. I hope that you understand why I did what I did. If you do thank you. If you don't then I'm sorry.

Sincerely,

Former Princess Vivi Nefertari"

The people were a mishmash of emotions. At least for a moment. Afterwards, they all slowly began to understand what she was saying to them. She was doing what her heart commanded of her, and was telling them to do the same. They all erupted into cheers for their former-. No, to them she was still and would forever be their princess.

Cobra looked on, a smile on his face. He turned his head towards the direction of the sea. 'Vivi, you message has been heard, loud and clear.'

The Going Merry)

Vivi once again stood in the crow's nest, this time with one of the books that she had borrowed from the archaeologist. He suddenly felt a tingling sensation somewhere within her. She couldn't completely discern where the source was until it came again, a little stronger. She closed her eyes, and could feel the warmth of her country's people in her. And though she wasn't sure at first, she could've sworn that she saw her father's smiling face.

She opened her eyes a smile as big as the one Luffy wore on a daily basis on her face. 'Thank you father.'

"Oiiiiiiiiiii, Vivi, lunch time." Her captain called up to her from the deck, then ran to the kitchen, only to be kicked back out by a shiny black shoe.

Vivi giggled lightly before climbing down to the deck for lunch.

Ok people, there you have it. Chapter 14. And I must say considering that I did this while I was sick, I am kinda impressed with myself. Ok you know the drill. R&R please.

P.S. did I do something wrong with my last chapter, because I didn't get that many reviews for it.


	15. A Meeting of the Villans

Ok, Chapter 15. Enjoy.

"I have gathered you all here today because I would like to offer you a chance for revenge."

On the deck of his ship, Kohza had called together a meeting with the pirates that he had welcomed to his crew. It was a rather stormy day in that area of the grand line, and the ship rocked with the waves. While would have been happy to get one or two of the people he had in mind, he was surprised to find that each and every one of them wanted a shot at taking out the man that, in one way or the other, had thwarted their plans.

The first one, Bellamy, was a simple one to get. He was lucky to have met up with him at the lowest point of his nosedive. Bellamy had just been beaten by straw hat (although he had to embarrassingly admit that he beat him with one hit) and was kicked out of the crew that he was a part of, almost being killed by them. Picking him up was the easiest thing he could have done.

Then there was Buggy the Clown and his companion Alvida. Buggy was a simple one to follow. Straw hat had stolen his map of the grand line, taken his treasure, and left him in a most compromising state for a while. Alvida, on the other hand, seemed to have some sort of attraction to the boy. He had seen some really strange people in his time, but this was gonna be one nut that no one, not even Kohza himself, would be able to crack.

Next on his list of people to obtain was Wapol. He was beginning to question the usefulness of this pirate, who for some reason believed he was still a king. He was about as simple minded as a kid in a candy store. However two things helped him decide to bring him along. One, his ability. Although he did have a tendency to eat just about anything in sight randomly, sometimes he did come up with some rather useful weapons. Two, the fact that that simple mind was currently focused on getting revenge on the ones that cost him his kingdom.

The last three were some much easier stories to understand, plus their abilities were a lot more useful.

The merman, Arlong, had a major chip on his shoulder that he had to knock off. And it would start with the destruction of the two people responsible for his empires premature end; Monkey D. Luffy and his former human slave and cartographer, Nami. His very race alone was more than enough reason for Kohza to accept him into his little crew. Combine that with his knowledge of the grand line and you have one of the best acquisitions you could ever hope for.

Then there was Kuro, the master strategist. Now this was a guy that he could see himself working with. He was straight forward in just about all he did, and he seemed to be observing just about anything and everything that was in his sight. His reason was also simple; straw hat had been the first one to thwart one of his masterpiece plans, and now he wanted revenge. He along with that liar from that village would pay for keeping him for returning from his "death".

Last but not least, Don Krieg. Weapons were a problem for Kohza since the Alabasta war, so he needed to try to find a good source. He found that and more when he came across Don Krieg. The heavily armored pirate supplied him with more weapons than he really had any use for. All he asked for was a chance to find the one that had stopped him; straw hat. He also wanted to find the cook that fought alongside him and teach him a lesson as well.

"You have all, at one point or another came across straw hat and were defeated by him. And with the exception of Bellamy here, you all know just what the boy can do. You all have reason to want him either dead, tortured, or just hurt to the point that he wants to be dead. I am giving you a chance to do so."

"Why should I have to team with all of you filthy humans? I could take him out myself now that I know what he can do." Arlong spoke up.

"Really now Arlong, we all think that as well. But the fact of the matter is that we are all going into this next battle with them without our respective crews, combined with the fact that most of us fought his crew when they weren't at one hundred percent. Not to mention that they have more than likely have grown since the last time we have seen them. Just how big were they when you last saw them, Kohza?" Kuro remained neutral in his speech.

"6 members. The straw hat boy, the santouryu swordsman, the orange haired navigator, the lying sharpshooter, the blond haired cook, and a reindeer with zoan abilities. Also recently, the former princess of Alabasta has joined as well. I'm sure you all have heard about her."

They all nodded.

"I don't care about her. As long as I get to have the straw hat boy all to myself, I will be happy." Alvida spoke in her usually sultry voice.

"Don't worry, we will all get our shot at him soon enough." Buggy spoke from behind her.

"I should get the first shot at him, because I am the king. In fact I should be the leader of this little deal." Wapol used his normal, rather annoying voice.

"Stop joking around. I was the one that brought all the weapons. Without me this whole plan would fall to pieces. I should spearhead this one." This was Krieg, loud as ever.

"I don't care who leads it, but I think you are forgetting that the straw hat boy won't be alone. It's not like we will get to go straight to him. Fortunately the one who actually _is_ leading this has thought of that." Bellamy said from his spot beside Kohza.

Kohza smiled and spoke. "We all already know that one of his weaknesses is water. That much is obvious being a devil fruit user. However, how many of us know the one thing that he wouldn't be able to take no matter what?" When no one answered he said, "Bellamy?"

"His dream. He wants to become the pirate king. So he has gathered a crew that he trusts with his life. His crew's happiness is everything to him. SO what if we were to take his crew away from him? That would destroy him. He would be at his weakest. That is when we all come in and take him out."

"Hmmm, I find that to be very good. I am a master strategist and even I would not have thought up something like that." Kuro was visibly impressed

"That surprises me Kuro. But it's ok. Because now that we have the tools, the personnel, and the plan, we can begin the attack on the straw hats."

The pirates all smiled their evilest smile as Kohza looked out on to the sea. 'Get ready Vivi. I'm coming for you.'

Ok , done. I know it seems kind of cliché of me to bring back all of his enemies in one big crew, but hey, one of the reviews said that plot twists was fun so I thought I would give this a try. So please R&R.


	16. The Trap

Chapter 16. Here goes.

Vivi had a really bad feeling. She wasn't sure where it was coming from or what it could possibly be related to, but all she knew was that whatever it was, it was coming soon.

Thankfully, none of the crew picked up on this right away. The last thing she wanted to do was give them reason to worry, especially if it was about her. Instead she decided to shun the feeling and go on with her life out on the sea.

Ah, the sea. No matter how many times she saw it, she always felt like it was her first time ever looking at it. Mainly because it was the grand line, which was always full of surprises no matter how many times someone set sail out onto it. Although the sea was relatively calm right now, she was still keeping a close watch out for anything. This particular part of the sea had been known to produce numerous deadly storms, including the ever unpredictable cyclones that plagued the grand line.

Fortunately, the cyclones weren't going to be any problem for them, as they had quite possibly the best navigator on the seas on their crew. Said person was currently lounging on the deck, in her green bikini, with the cook standing by waiting for her to ask him to do anything she could think to make him do. Vivi actually had to roll her eyes at that. She respected Sanji and everyone else on the crew well, but there was a fine line between caterer and slave, but unfortunately Sanji had crossed that line long ago. Like probably when he first met her. On the flip side of that same coin, Nami did take advantage of this far too often and enjoyed the spoils of this more than she should have. Then again, she figured that she enjoyed it as well so she shouldn't really talk, now should she?

Besides, the next island was in sight and she was ready to take in a little land right about now anyway. "Everyone, the next island is coming up."

Nami looked up, checked her log, and then turned to Sanji. "Sanji-kun. How are we on food?"

"We are almost out, Nami-swaaan." Sanji spoke in his love struck daze.

"Damn that Luffy. Where is he anyway? I haven't seen him much today and he isn't on his regular spot." She looked at the empty head of the Going Merry.

"Oiiiiiiiiii, Nami." A familiar voice called from the last place she wanted it to come from; her tangerine grove.

"Luffy! Why are you in there? Get out now!" She nearly stormed her way over to the grove.

"Awww, but it's so nice and cool in here. It would be a good place to sleep." He whined from his spot.

"No, you are not sleeping in here! I already know that the next day all of my plants would be in your stomach! So, no it isn't a good place to sleep." She finally found him hunched over something.

"But they seem to think so." He pointed at a nest of birds that were currently sleeping.

"What? What are they doing here?" Her face softened a little.

"They flew in a few days ago. I thought that they were gonna try to take your fruit so I thought I'd watch them. So far they haven't" Explained the captain.

Nami smiled at this. 'Maybe I should be so hard on him. I mean he was just trying to help, even if it was in his own weird way.' "Thank you, Luffy, but I will take over watching them from now on."

"Ok. Hey, did Vivi just say that we were coming up on an island?"

"Yes, we are. We need to get a few provisions as well, thanks to your stomach." She tried to sound menacing but it came out almost like a joke.

"Ok, then let's get everyone together to plan this trip out." Luffy jumped from the grove and called everyone in.

"Ok, so what do we need?" Nami was the first to speak.

"First thing is food. That is a given with Luffy's stomach." Sanji spoke.

"I also need to find some supplies. I'm running low on ammunition and there are still some repairs that need to be made to the Merry." Usopp was next.

"Princess-san said she saw some old stone structures near the center of the island, and I would like to explore them." Robin said.

"I need to restock on some of my medical supplies. It seems like the deeper into the grand line we get, them more powerful enemies we meet, and the more injuries we take." Chopper was the next to speak.

"And I need to find a good spot to draw my map of this place. I think there should be a place on the side of the island that would be good." The navigator said.

"I also need to catch up on some of my training. Aside from that move that I used to beat that Mr. 1 guy, I have a few more that I need to master." Zoro's statement intrigued Robin.

"Mr. 1? You were able to defeat him? How?"

"I still don't know myself really. But somehow I had the power to actually cut through steel. I need to figure out how to call upon that power at will."

"Ok and what about you two?" Nami looked at Luffy and Vivi. And then she reconsidered her question. "Never mind Luffy. What about you Vivi?"

"Oh I don't need anything right now. So I guess I'll stay and guard the ship with Luffy. You know, just to make sure it doesn't go floating off anywhere."

"Thank you, Vivi."

Soon the ship was docked, and the six members of the crew that were leaving were ready to go.

"Alright everyone, let's try to be back before sundown alright?" The navigator was a little hyped about this.

And she got an equally hyped answer. "Aye!" And with that they split off in their separate directions.

On the ship Luffy and Vivi had decided to sit and rest for a while. However before her eyes closed a thought passed through her mind. 'Everything and everyone is happy and healthy, so why can't I seem to shake this bad feeling?"

In the bush next to the ship)

A pair of spectacled eyes watched as the crew split off into their own separate directions, leaving the captain and the princess still on the ship. He smiled at this. "Just like he said." He stood and turned away from the ship. "Stealth Walk." Suddenly he disappeared from where he was standing.

Moments later, he reappeared in front of his own crew.

"It was just as you had planed Kohza. Six of them have all split into different directions to do 'errands'. There are two remaining on the ship. Straw hat and the princess."

Kohza smiled at that. "Perfect. That couldn't have gone any better if I had written it out. Now all we need is…" Bellamy came jumping his way back to the ship. "The town has been completely cleared. There is not a single soul left here."

"Perfect. Ok, you stay with me. The rest of you, go out and take on his crew. Hurt them, bloody them, cripple them, but don't kill them yet. I want to save that for when we bring them in front of that straw hat bastard and take away his only reason for living."

"How cruel. How devious. How utterly spineless. I love it." Buggy spoke up.

The others were busy planning how they would take out the other members when something actually hit Kohza.

"Wait, Kuro. You said that two were on the ship and six went off into different directions. That would make eight members."

"Yes I noticed that as well. It would seem that they have picked up a new female member. The strange thing is, I think I have seen her somewhere before."

"Hmm, well nothing to worry about. She will get the same treatment as the others. Now everyone, go out and destroy."

Arlong, Kuro, Krieg, Buggy, Alvida, and Wapol all headed out to their destinations to meet with the straw hat crew. And commence with their utter destruction.

"Come Bellamy. Let's go say hello to the honored guest." Kohza began his walk along the shoreline with Bellamy close behind.

'Straw hat, Vivi, get ready. Your worst nightmare has come.'

Ok, originally, I wasn't supposed to start this until a little later, but unfortunately I couldn't think of a way to fill the space in between, so I jumped straight into it. Hope you all like it, so R&R please.


	17. Time to Rumble

Chapter # 17 is a go.

After some of the towns and villages that they had been to since Luffy's bounty had been raised, the crew had been used to seeing Luffy's bounty picture posted up in bars, restaurants, taverns, and just about every other imaginable place that they could think of. However, Sanji and Usopp were surprised to find that not only were there no pictures of Luffy anywhere, but there were absolutely no people either. This was strange as there were doors to people's homes that were wide open and even a few den den mushis that were seemingly in use.

"Oi, Sanji. What's up with this town? It seems like there are people who live here, but there is no one around."

"I have no idea, what's going on. This seems more like a ghost town to me." The cook seemed undaunted by the ominous air of the place as he lit his fourth cigarette since landing.

"G-g-g-g-ghost town???" Usopp curled up into a little ball on the ground. "Oh no, my I-can't-enter-this-town disease has suddenly struck again."

"Fine by me. Stay here by yourself. I'll bet your I-can't-stay-here-by-myself disease will change your mind,"

"Oiiiiiiiiii! Sanji! Wait for me!"Usopp was up and with him in a flash.

Soon they came up to a sign that read, 'Seaside Island. Industrial district this way.' An arrow pointed to the left. 'Concessions this way.' Another arrow pointed to the right.

"Ok, I guess I'm headed this way. Good luck, Usopp." Sanji turned right and walked off.

Sanji walked through the concessions district, turning his head to find a decent place to get his ingredients from. It was just as he had imagined. A lot of food shops, though most were premade.

When he finally found the one he was looking for, he was surprised to find someone already there. That surprises turned to deep annoyance when he saw that the man was eating everything up.

"Oi, you. Just because no one's here to tell you to stop, that doesn't mean you should waste all that good food." Sanji lit another cig.

"Shut up. Can't you see that I am busy?"

The voice rang a bell somewhere in Sandi's mind. 'I know that I've heard this annoying voice before, but where. "Besides, a king should get to do what he wants when he wants." The bell went crazy.

"Oi, you are that fat bastard (no pun intended Austin Powers fans) from that winter Island. Wapol."

Wapol stood and turned to Sanji. "Huh? You! That blonde bastard that was with that straw hat kid. You cost me my kingdom and now I am going to make you royally pay."

Sanji lit his next cig and got ready.

Industrial District)

Usopp looked around for someone, anyone. But all of the shops were closed. Well he wanted to say closed but considering that the doors were still wide open he couldn't tell.

But the fact remained that there was no one in sight. And this slowly began to worry Usopp, who was already beginning to sweat profusely.

He found a shop that looked promising enough to buy supplies from, but of course, it was empty.

"Damn. Now what do I do? I can't come back empty handed but I don't want to simply take anything." He walked out of the shop and decided to keep on looking.

Unfortunately his search wouldn't last long. Almost as soon as he stepped out of the shop a boulder that had been sitting nearby broke into pieces. "Ahhhhh, what was that?"

A second boulder broke as well, and then a third. Usopp continued screaming, yelling out, "This really is a ghost town and the ghosts are here." But once he actually got a look at another boulder being broken, he noticed that it didn't break at all. Instead it looked like it was being sliced into pieces.

"Wait I've seen this before." And in answer a voice called back to him. "I was wondering when you would remember."

Suddenly a man wearing a black suit, glasses, and gloves with claws attached to the fingers appeared before Usopp.

"K-K-Kuro. What are you doing here?" Usopp was petrified.

"I'm here to get my revenge on the straw hat. But first, I think that I will start with you. This should be simple since no one else will interfere with this battle. It is just you and me, Usopp."

However, instead of being scared and running away like normal, Usopp remembered that he had tried to kill Kaya so he could take her money. He used that to fill his rage. He lowered his goggles and took out his Slingshot.

"Oh, do you actually mean to try and face me like a man?"

"No question about it, Kuro."

Forest near the town)

Chopper and Robin decided to walk into the forest from the ship. After they had gotten deep enough, Robin headed on to the ruins, while Chopper began to search for herds and plants for his medicine.

He found a nice little floral oasis of healing plants and herbs a few minutes after splitting with Robin and began collecting.

Meanwhile, in the bushes near the blue nosed doctor's position, two pairs of eyes looked on.

"Hmm, for a deer, he is rather cute." Commented Alvida.

"Yea and I'll bet he is even cuter when he is completely chopped up. But who was that woman that he was with? You think she was the extra member Kuro was talking about?"

"I don't know, but she said something about my sweet little Luffy. I hope he isn't trying to cheat on me." Whined Alvida.

"Hmm, well then why don't you go and ask her?"

"Oh, Buggy dear, you are too good to me." She gave him a kiss on the cheek before sliding off after Robin.

Buggy in the mean time, decided that he had waited long enough. He jumped out of the bushes. "It's killing time."

Chopper turned around in a flash and screamed. "AHHHHHHHHH! WHO ARE YOU? WHY ARE YOU HERE? WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH ME?" He stopped for a second and got a good look at the guy.

"Ha, so I see you are impressed with how I went about this huh? Well that is to be expected from a captain of my caliber."

But Chopper simply said. "You have a funny looking nose." Naturally, this hit a nerve with Buggy.

"What was that, you stupid deer?"

"Asshole, I'm a reindeer."

"Ha, see how it feels then, smart ass deer."

"Bastard. Shut up, you big, red nosed asshole." At that he went heavy point.

"Oh, that's right, you have a zoan fruit. That's good. I haven't cut one of you up yet."

"And you ain't staring with me, clown."

Ruins)

These weren't as old as she was used to, but Robin was still as intrigued about these ruins as she always was.

She had learned a little about the people that lived in these ruins. There was nothing outstanding about them except for the fact that they seemed to worship some kind of square stone that was hidden deep in the ruins. Her first and most obvious guess was that the stone was indeed a poneglyph, but she had to be certain.

As she was about to make her way into the ruins a voice caught her attention. "Are a member of the straw hat crew?"

Robin turned to see a woman wearing a purple coat and cowboy hat, and wielding a rather large mace, standing atop the ruins.

"Yes, miss, that is correct. How may I help you?"

"Mmmm, so how is that precious straw hat boy doing right now? Hmm, you would know wouldn't you? You seemed interested in him during your walk here."

Robin smiled. "So you and that big nosed clown were following us then."

"Yes, and I hope your friend, that cute little deer didn't call him that. He is rather sensitive about his nose."

"Yes, well I hope he didn't call my friend that. He is rather touchy about being called a deer."

"Hmm, looks like they are gonna get along just fine. Which is much more than I can say about us. Now shall we begin?"

"I have no reason to fight with you. I just want to explore these ruins and learn about history."

"Oh, no reason huh? I know your type well. Once you press the right buttons they will be perfectly willing to fight. For example." Alvida brought her mace down upon a section of the ruins, causing it to crumble into pieces.

Robin, who had begun to walk off into the other direction, stopped in her tracks.

"I suppose I pressed your buttons, right?"

Robin dropped her bag and removed her hat. "Please excuse me, for I cannot forgive you for what you have done." Robin turned towards her with pure evil in her eyes.

On the coast on the side of the island)

Nami had put the finishing touches on her map and decided that since she finished a little earlier than expected; she would lounge a little on the beach.

The sun felt rather good on her right now. She hadn't had this much time to herself in a while a she wanted to relish every minute of it. It was enough to spoil a girl, as if she wasn't spoiled enough already, courtesy of Sanji.

She had almost fallen asleep when she heard someone walking up to her.

"Luffy, go back to the ship. The map had been done and I don't need any help." 'Although, I suppose a little company would not be a bad thing. But then I would have wanted Vivi to come. But then that would leave Luffy alone on the ship, and Luffy alone on the ship was not a good thing.'

"So, you finished another map huh? Well, I suppose it's a start."

She was sent immediately into shock. The voice was one that she did not want to hear now or ever. In fact she was sure that she had heard the last of that voice long ago in east blue.

Slowly she stood and turned to stare into the menacing eyes of her former employer; Arlong.

"A-Arlong, why- why are you-?"

Heh heh heh, surprised to see me Nami? You shouldn't be. After all, I told you that you would be a part of my crew for life. And the minute that the straw hat bastard is out of my way, then that is when you are coming back with me to your village. Only this time, instead of making them pay a fee every month, I will kill one villager every month. And I will make you pick him or her."

"No, no, no. This can't be happening. Tell me this is not happening."

"Yes it is, Nami. But before that, I think that I will have some fun with you first."

That clicked Nami back into reality. 'Luffy, you defeated him for me once. This time, I will take him out myself.' She took out her climatact and assembled it for combat. "Get ready Arlong, cause I ain't the same girl you captured in my village."

Arlong laughed. "This should be fun."

Other side of Island)

Zoro continued to train himself to the best of his ability.

'I need to harness this power that I have used. Chopper was right. The deeper into the grand line we get, the tougher the enemies get. I must be able to use this power at will.'

As he pondered this, Don Krieg stayed concealed in the bushes. Well as concealed as the most heavily armored pirate in history could be. He was trying to find a good opportunity to strike, but that would never come.

"If you are waiting for an opening you aren't going to get it, so you might as well come out and face me."

Krieg cursed himself but still emerged from his hiding place behind the trees. "So you knew I was here the whole time. How? Some kind of third eye, or sixth sense?"

"No, your armor reflected the light. Not a smart idea if you're trying to hide." Zoro turned. "You're the bastard that attacked the restaurant. I heard that Luffy took you out but I didn't get to see it. Looks like my turn is here." He took out two of his swords leaving the Wado sheathed.

Krieg laughed. "Go ahead and try to cut my new armor. I've had it completely reinforced. There is no way that it can be broken this time."

Zoro simply smiled. "We will see."

Going Merry)

Luffy had been sleep for the longest time since the group split apart. Vivi imagined that he picked up that trait from Mr. Bushido a while ago. However that bad feeling kept her from feeling even the least bit relaxed about this place. Finally giving up on hiding it, she tried to talk to the captain.

"Luffy, Luffy wake up please."

"What, what is it? Is it lunch?"

"No, I'm just kind of worried is all. Do you really think everyone will be ok alone?"

"Don't worry. They can take care of themselves."

"Ok, but still-."She never got to finish.

"Your friends should be the least of your worries, princess." A voice called from the dock.

Vivi and Luffy both headed to the side of the ship to see a man that Vivi had never seen before standing there.

"Straw Hat Luffy. It's been a while hasn't it? I hope you don't think that I have forgotten what you did to me in Mock Town."

Luffy gave the man a blank stare. "Eh, who are you?"

"WHAT??? Do you mean to tell me that you don't remember who I am? It's me, Bellamy?"

"Huh, Bellamy? Did we fight before?"

"Yes we did. And because I went easy on you, you beat me with one punch."

"Oh, that's why I don't remember you. I don't remember weak fights."

"WHAT??? That's it. Boss let's get on with the plan." And as soon as the 'boss' emerged from behind the building Vivi's eyes went wide. "Hello, Vivi."

"OI, Vivi. Isn't that your friend from Alabasta? Why is he here?"

But Vivi never heard him. Her eyes were trained on the person that was standing below her.

"K-Kohza?"

Pants. That was not an easy chapter to do. Hopefully my hard work produces the desired result so please. R&R.


	18. Kuro vs Usopp

Chapter 18. I know this will sound a little corny but………

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLet's Get Ready to Rumblllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllle

For all of the bravado that Usopp had shown when Kuro first challenged him, he found it rather hard to keep it up when the fight actually started.

Usopp was clearly just trying to survive this fight with his old nemesis from his village. And Kuro seemed to be playing with the man, and thoroughly enjoying it.

Kuro use his incredible speed to move around the area and keep Usopp from targeting him. Every now and then he would move in close to Usopp as if he were moving in for an attack, only to back off leaving Usopp scared witless.

Usopp decided that using his own sharp shooting style would not be enough to take down this man, so he had to think of something that was outside his usual game plan. That's when it hit him. He was still inside of the industrial district. He had a near unlimited supply of resources that were at his disposal. But which one could he use to at least slow down Kuro?

He ran to one of the shop and took a quick look, only to turn right into Kuro, who sent him flying with a stiff kick to the gut.

"Really now Usopp. Your captain was barely able to beat me himself, and he is a devil fruit user. What do you think you could possibly do to stop me?" He readjusted his glasses and faced Usopp.

Usopp, who had been doubled over clutching his stomach, stood and took aim on his target. "A hell of a lot more than he could ever do to you. Hissatsu gunpowder star." He took aim and fired. Kuro didn't even need to move as the shot went directly past him.

"And you call yourself a sniper?"

But Usopp smiled. "Who said you were my target?"

At that the building behind Kuro, which had been interestingly enough a gunpowder store, erupted into a huge explosion sending Kuro flying forward.

"Got ya." Usopp stood, extremely proud of himself. Then he looked at the store. "Man, I hope there is another gunpowder store here. I really needed some."

"That should be the least of your worries now, Usopp." Kuro rose from the ground, his jacket removed from his body. "Because now I am done playing games with you." He let his arms go limp, held his head down, and began to sway from left to right.

Usopp watched him with a concerned look on his face that only seemed to grow more and more as Kuro continued to sway. He finally decided to attack while he had the chance. "Hissatsu…"

"Stealth Walk." Kuro disappeared from Usopp's vision. Usopp looked around for him with no luck. Then…

"Ahhhhh." Usopp screamed as four claw marks appeared on his arm. Another four came on his leg and then his chest and then his back. Usopp fell to his knees in pain as his cut started to bleed out a little.

"And now to end it." Kuro appeared before Usopp and attempted to stab him right in his heart. Usopp brought up his hand to block the attack, but instead was sent flying back towards a building. A large stone that was sitting at the top of the building, set off balance by the force of Usopp's body hitting the building, fell down. Usopp held his hands up and screamed as the boulder landed on him.

Kuro readjusted his glasses once again and turned to leave. "Hmm, just as I had planned it would go" 'Except why didn't my blades pierce his hand when he tried to block it? He should not have been thrown back like that.'

"Kuro!" Usopp stood in front of the fallen boulder. "I am not done yet. And now I have the means to take you down once and for all."

Kuro turned around almost in a state of shock. "How are you standing up right now? That boulder had to have weighed a ton at least."

"Please, that was nothing. You should have seen when I took a 4 ton bat to the face. "But that was then and this is now. And now, I will finish you."

Kuro smiled at this. "Oh, well then let's see if I even give you the chance." He assumed his swaying position and readied himself.

'Let's see if you see this one coming, Kuro.' Usopp got his slingshot ready. "Hissatsu….."

"Stealth Walk." Kuro vanished.

"Smoke Star." Usopp fired a shot at the floor and a huge cloud of smoke appeared. Four slash marks appeared in the smoke where Usopp was standing, but there was no more Usopp. Kuro stopped and looked to see what had happened.

"Super Glue Stars." Usopp fired another two shots at Kuro's feet, and when they hit his feet glue spread out all over them.

Kuro tried to move before the glue dried, but he found that he couldn't. "What is this? I should still be able to move."

"I altered the glue so that it dried the moment it made contact." Usopp explained as he got his next shot ready. "Flash Star." He fired another shot at Kuro's face and looked away as it exploded, making a brilliantly bright flash of light.

Kuro was temporarily blinded, but it was enough for Usopp to get in close enough to him without Kuro slashing him. When Kuro finally did get his vision back he was met with the image of Usopp's hand, and on it was something like a shell with multiple little holes on it.

"This was how I survived your stab, this was how I survived the boulder, and this will be how I defeat you." Usopp reared back and shoved it straight into Kuro's face. "Impact!"

Kuro was suddenly hit with a force that he had only felt once before, when straw hat had given him that deadly head but. Only this was far worse than that. It actually sent him flying backwards, ripping his shoes right out of the glue. He landed on the ground, completely knocked out.

Usopp had also been knocked back by the blow, although it was considerably less than Kuro. His arm felt like it was about to be ripped right out of his socket, but he ignored it long enough to observe his work. And slowly the realization hit him like he had just hit Kuro.

"I did it. I did it. I DID IT! I beat Kuro all by myself." He was extremely happy and proud of himself, and he had the right to be. This was his first completely unassisted victory ever. Everyone else was perfectly capable of fighting their own battles, but up until now he had always needed someone there to assist him with his. He couldn't wait until he told everyone else.

"Wait. Everyone else." 'I don't think that Kuro was the only one here. Everyone else might be in danger.'

Leaving Kuro's limp figure behind him, he stood and made his way back to the Going Merry.

Ok, one down. Way to go Usopp. I hope you liked that fight. I plan on making one for everyone so please tell me how I can improve. You know, make the fights a bit more interesting. So, R&R.


	19. Wapol vs Sanji

Ok, sorry for the wait. The site decided to be gay for a week or so. But, Chapter 19 is ready to go.

Sanji had to give it to the fat guy. As much as he was kicking him, the man would simply refuse to go down.

Wapol had been trying to break through Sanji's kicks every since the fight started, but with his sheer size and complete inexperience with close range combat, he was not having the greatest of luck.

"Damn it, I am the king. I should be allowed to hit you as much as I like."

"Heh, please. Even if you were a king, you still wouldn't stand a chance against by feet." Sanji lunged forward and attempted to deliver a round house kick.

Wapol ducked under it and decided that it was time to fight his way. He opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue. Sanji looked a little confused at first. Then he saw his tongue turn into a gun.

"Take this." And he fired the gun on his tongue. Sanji was barely able to jump out of the way and saw the building that was behind him explode. Meanwhile, Wapol was setting up again for his attack. "Again." He fired again and Sanji dodged again.

This continued for a little while before Sanji got tired of this game. He lunged at Wapol once again, and just as Wapol fired, Sanji jumped up. Wapol looked up to see him, but it wasn't fast enough to catch him. "See how much you like this, shitty bastard." Sanji then cocked both of his legs back and then drove them into Wapol's face.

Wapol was sent rolling back into a nearby building. Sanji lit yet another cig and was about to see if the food that he wanted to get was still there when…..

"Baku Baku Factory." From the rubble of the building came Wapol, standing in his transformed state. Sanji looked at him and sighed. "You really don't know when you have had enough, do you."

"Shut up you kaba (hippo). A king does not get beaten so easily. Take this." He aimed one of his cannon arms at Sanji and fired. Sanji easily dodged the blast, but wasn't prepared for the unusually large explosion that came afterwards and was sent flying into another building.

"Heh heh heh. Instead of regular cannon shells, my armaments now have explosive charges with them. So even if I don't hit you directly, you will still feel the hit."

Sanji was slow to get up this time. "Wow, wasn't expecting that." He walked out of the building and looked at Wapol.

"So, kaba, you ready to give up yet?"

Sanji simply lit yet another cig. He inhaled and then exhaled as if nothing was wrong. "Ok, I guess I will stop playing with you now."

"Huh." Wapol looked extremely confused. "What are you talking about?"

Sanji just stood there and continued smoking. Wapol was getting very frustrated at how the blonde haired cook was acting. "Hey, I'm talking to you." He fired another cannon at him.

Sanji was ready. He brought his leg around behind the charge so that it fit perfectly on his ankle. Then, not losing the momentum, he brought it around in a u-turn and sent it flying back towards Wapol.

Wapol, not expecting this, was unable to move away, and was hit right in the gut. The charge exploded and sent him flying back, knocking him out of his factory configuration.

Sanji was already on the move. And with a speed that very few have, rushed behind Wapol. He then kicked him right in the back, stopping him in mid flight. He delivered another to his back and sent him forward, then sped in front of him and stopped him again with a kick to the gut. He then sent his straight up with another kick then jumped above him and brought his leg down on him hard, sending him flying back down to the ground. Wapol hit the ground hard and bounced a few feet off the ground. Sanji landed next to him and in one fluid motion……

"Mouton Shoot." Sent a straight kick into his gut, sending him straight into a few trees before finally skidding to a stop on the ground.

Sanji stood back up straight, lit another cig and was about to walk off when he heard a few sound from where Wapol was lying. "Eh, you aren't done yet?"

Wapol stood and walked to the center of the street. "This isn't over yet I still have one last trick up my sleeve. Baku Baku Firing Squad." And with that His entire body became covered with rifles.

Sanji didn't look the least bit worried. "Heh is that it?"

This of course made Wapol angry. "You- you-, die!" And each and every rifle unloaded on to Sanji.

Unfortunately Sanji wasn't there anymore. He had jumped up and was currently rolling at an extremely high speed. Wapol, who found it very hard to move in his current state, could only look on as Sanji delivered the final blow. Using the momentum of his rolling, he brought his leg down hard on Wapol's head. Wapol was out like a light. The rifles disappeared and he fell down face first.

Sanji sighed and looked at the shop that he wanted. "Bastard. You ate all of the food in there. I shouldn't have been so easy on you."

Sanji was about to look for the next shop when he heard something. "Hmm. Is he still not done yet?" But this was coming from someone else.

"Oiiiiiiii, Sanji!" Sanji looked over to see Usopp running back over to him.

"Usopp. What are you doi-. Oi, what happened to you?" Sanji noticed the numerous cuts that were on Usopp's body.

"I'll explain later. Right now we have to get back to the Merry. I was attacked by an old enemy of mine, and I doubt that he was the only one here."

"You got that right." Sanji pointed over to Wapol.

"I was right. I think that everyone that Luffy has beaten so far is coming back. And if so, then the others might be in danger as well."

Unfortunately Usopp was talking to air, as Sanji was already taking off screaming. "Vivi-chwan, Robi-chan, Nami-swan, you're knight in black armor is coming."

"Oi, Sanji! Wait up."

And Usopp ran after Sanji to try to find the rest of their crew.

Ok, I know it's been a while since I've updated and I know that this one might not be as good as the others. With that said, R&R please.


	20. Buggy vs Chopper

Ok I'm back with Chapter 20.

Buggy was extremely confident that he would be the one to come out on top in this fight. He had the range advantage, thanks to his devil fruit power, He was sure that he had the combat experience, and just by looking at the guy, he knew that he was older. "Cakewalk" He had described the fight when it began.

Unfortunately for him, Chopper was not going down as easily as he wanted him to. In fact Chopper wasn't going down at all. Very few people with zoan fruit abilities could say that they had mastered their transformations to the extent that Chopper had. He seamlessly went between his three default forms like it was nothing. When he needed to create some space he went into his walk point. When he needed to block an attack, he went heavy point. And when he needed to simply evade an attack he went into his brain point.

Buggy was becoming increasingly annoyed. "Damn it you bastard deer, hold still." He detached his arms, which currently held three daggers a hand, and launched them at Chopper. Chopper simply went walk point and evaded to the side. Then he ran up to him and changed to heavy point and threw a big punch.

The punch was aimed at Buggy's torso, but it never hit, as Buggy detached his upper body from his lower body. Chopper tried to react quickly and follow up with another punch, but Buggy was just a little quicker, tripping him up with his feet, which had also been detached. Chopper fell to the floor and was nearly impaled by one of Buggy's knives that were sent flying from one of his hands. Fortunately he was quick enough to transform into his brain point, evading injury. He stood up and waited as Buggy collected himself. Literally.

"Ha ha ha ha ha. You are pretty good there, little deer. Wish we could have met under different circumstances. A freak like you would have been a perfect addition to the Buggy the Clown pirates."

However, this did not have the desired effect Buggy wanted. "First off, and for the last time…." Chopper sucked in a large amount of air. "I AM NOT A DEER! I AM A REINDEER! Second…" Another breath. "I AM NOT A FREAK! I AM A MONSTER! And finally." One last breath. "I AM A MEMBER OF THE STRAW HAT CREW! I AM A PIRATE! AND YOU HAD BETTER NOT FORGET THAT, YOU BIG NOSED, ASSHOLE CLOWN!" This of course got under the skin of the former captain.

"Why…. you…. stupid." Buggy got his next attack ready, detaching his arms at the shoulders and connecting the ends together. "Try this on for size. Bara Bara Buzz saw." His arms started spinning and were launched at Chopper. He barely had enough time to dodge the attack before he saw Buggy's head come flying at him, connecting hard with his own head. He was sent flying back to a tree. As soon as he landed, he heard something coming from behind him. He once again just barely moved when Buggy's Buzz saw came flying back at him. He got up and looked for where Buggy was, but he had disappeared. Then suddenly he heard him speak. "Bara Bara Harpoon." Two hands with daggers on them came flying at the reindeer. He ducked, but when he stood again Buggy was standing right in front of him. "DO you like parties? I do to. Want to know my favorite kind of party?" Buggy had a sick smile on his face and Chopper looked scared out of his mind.

"Bara Bara Festival. All of his parts that could be detached came off and attacked Chopper at the same time. Chopper found himself caught in a whirlwind of flying parts, whose sole purpose was to injure and maim him. The attacks came and came and came until Buggy felt he had done enough damage and called off his parts.

Chopper stood there, numerous bruises on his body, and a faraway look in his eyes. Buggy simply laughed at this. "See, what did I tell ya? You didn't stand a chance against me." Buggy began to walk off in search of Alvida when he heard a light shuffle behind him. When he turned around Chopper was standing there, glaring at him.

"What, do you really think you can still fight me? Get real. I have already seen your transformations so I already know what you can do. You ain't got nothing left to fight me with."

"You are wrong. I am the one who has seen everything you can do. I still have an ace up my sleeve." And with that he took out the shiny yellow ball.

"Huh, what is that? Some kind of candy?"

"You are partially right. You have seen three of my transformations, and Zoan users only get three forms. But thanks to this thing, I can completely throw the rulebook out the window. All I need is three minutes." He tossed the ball into the air. "RUMBLE!" He caught it in his mouth and crunched down.

"Heh, so what. You ate a little candy. Bara Bara Harpoon." He launched his hands at him again.

"Jump point." Chopper transformed into his jump point transformation and completely cleared the daggers, which were then implanted into a tree. While Buggy worked on removing the daggers, Chopper went brain point and then brought his hooves together. "Scope! Now let's see where you are weakest." He scanned his entire body, searching for a weak spot. And when he found it, he nearly died right there from the sheer ridiculousness of it. Instead he contented himself with laughing uncontrollably. "Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. _That_ is your weak point?"

"What are you laughing at? You're the sitting duck right now." He had freed his daggers and was leading them straight to the airborne Chopper.

Chopper saw the danger and responded in kind. "Guard Point." His hair grew out and protected him from the daggers. He hit the ground in his walk point and headed straight for Buggy.

"No, you ain't getting close to me again. Bara Bara Buzz saw." He launched his attack again, but Chopper was ready.

"Horn Point." He transformed once again, this time into a big reindeer with massive horns. He knocked the buzz saw out of the way and kept on moving.

Buggy was furious. "Fine. You wanna play? Then I'll set the scene. Bara Bara Festival. He detached his parts again and whirled them around just like last time, but Chopper wasn't getting caught in that again. "Guard Point." He transformed again and sat there in the center of it all. The Parts merely bounced off of him like it was nothing.

"WHAAAAT??" Buggy couldn't believe it. Once the coast was clear for Chopper he set up for the kill. "Arm Point." His arms grew to massive proportions and his hooves were ready to deliver the final blow.

"Kokutei…" He brought both of his hooves back and zoned in on his target; Buggy's weak point.

"Cross!" His hooves created a cross pattern and implanted themselves on his weak spot; that big, red nose. Buggy's head was sent flying back into a tree and when it fell to the ground, not only did the rest of his body go limp, but just to add insult to injury, coconuts fell from the tree onto his head.

Chopper reverted back to his brain point form and looked at his enemy. "Is this the guy that Luffy was talking about?" He remembered a while back when Luffy told him about a pirate that he had fought that could separate parts of his body. "But why is he here?" He thought for a second when he heard a loud bang come from a nearby area. "That's where Robin was heading." He transformed into his walk point and hurried over to where she was.

Ok, number three is down. Hope you all enjoy it. And I hope this one is better than the last one, since I think some of you didn't really like that one. K, R&R please.


	21. Avlida vs Robin

After yet another long delay, which I must apologize for, I'm back with my next chapter.

As their fight began, both Alvida and Robin quickly understood just how dangerous each other were.

The first thing that Robin noticed was the strength of the woman and how it contrasted to her rather slender form. She wielded that mace as easily as a butter knife. To her credit she was at least better than that fat priest on Sky Island, recklessly destroying everything in sight.

Next was how she moved. This really confused Robin. Alvida was literally sliding all around the battle field on her bare feet. After a while Robin surmised that she too was a devil fruit user.

Alvida, on the other hand, noticed how calm Robin seemed during the fight. Her facial expression never changed once during her initial attack. That alone creeped her out. Though at least it was a different face from the one she had gotten when she had smashed that section of ruins. Now _that_ was a scary face.

The fight continued with Alvida seemingly having Robin on the defensive. Robin had been simply backing p the whole time, trying to avoid getting hit by that huge mace, thinking of how she should go about stopping this woman before she really started swinging that thing around.

Alvida continued to press her attack, smiling widely. "I thought you said you wouldn't forgive me for destroying a piece of your precious ruins. Was that just an empty threat, or do you plan on getting serious sometime soon? Mmmm, maybe you just need a little more motivation, yes?" And with that, she swung her mace at another section of the ruins.

Robin immediately stopped and crossed her arms. "No more!" Hand sprouted out of Alvida's body. "Seis Fle-." She stopped when she saw that her hands could not grab on to Alvida's body. She tried a few times more but with the same results.

Alvida lightly chuckled at this. "Oh, is that your ability? Heh, well you're gonna have to do better than that if you want to beat me and my Sube Sube (slip slip) abilities." She slid across the ruins towards Robin, who had begun to run in the other direction.

"She has an ability. Worse is mine won't have too much of an effect on her. I have to find some way to beat her." Finding her chance she hid herself in some bushes so she could plan her next move.

Alvida came and looked around for her. "Where are you? Come on, I won't hurt you just because you have my sweet little straw hat. In fact, if you want, we could share him. Of course I would get a bigger piece of him, but still, at least you can be with him a little."

Robin sighed and turned around. "Ok, I can't grab her, I can't hit her. How do I beat her if my abilities won't do any good?" She thought for a second. Then something hit her. "Wait, that's it. What if I hit her with something that can't slide off of her, something that can still hit and hurt her? But what? What could I use?"

However she never answered her question, because something else caught her attention. A hole in the ground near where she was sitting. She wasn't sure how deep it went but she knew that it went into the direction of the ruins. Not waiting another moment she lowered herself into the hole.

Thankfully she had kept a small lamp with her, as her main bag was still up top. The small passage was dark, to the point where without the lamp, she wouldn't have been able to see her own hand.

After a few minutes of walking she finally came up on the exit. What she saw was something that looked like a prayer room. The walls were covered with various markings and pictures and such. But what caught her attention was what lay in the center of the room.

"A poneglyph. So it was true." She walked down the stone steps to the poneglyph and began to read it. After a while she grew a depressed look on her face. "Another super weapon. " Then she remembered the words that Gol D. Roger had left on Sky Island. "This is just another piece of the puzzle that I need to solve." She wrote down what was on the poneglyph and began her search for a way out, where she would put Alvida down for sure.

Fortunately, she didn't even need to move from that spot. The ceiling suddenly caved in and pieces of rock started falling down all over the place. Robin gracefully evaded each and every one before finally they stopped.

"Ah, there you are." Alvida's sweet, sultry voice came calling from the giant whole that was just made. Robin looked up in utter disgust at her.

"Do you have no respect for the history that was left for us here? Must you continue to wipe away the last shred of history those past left here?"

"I don't care about that. History is just that. History. And to be perfectly honest, I've had enough of all of your complaining about it. If you love history so much, I'll go ahead and bury you here, then someone will find you with these ruins." She jumped down.

But Robin was ready for her. "Cien Fleur Delphinium." Hands sprouted from the wall behind her and created sort of a track for Alvida. Since she couldn't stop herself she was pretty much just going wherever her hands wanted to go. She tried to jump off of the hands, but Robin would simply create a dip in them so she couldn't jump.

After leading her along like this she eventually made her slide smack dab in to a wall. Alvida fell backwards, blood trickling down her nose. "I was right. In that case…" She crossed her arms and concentrated.

Alvida got up slowly and felt her face. When she felt the warm liquid, she immediately drew her hand back to see that she was bleeding. She turned towards Robin with a look of absolute anger on her face. "Why you. I will… make… you…" Her voice got smaller and smaller as the shadow that loomed over her got bigger and bigger.

Robin looked up at the woman and smiled rather sweetly as the object behind her took form. A mass of her hands coming together to form one giant hand. "Grand fleur." The hand reared back for the attack. "Swat!" Suddenly the hand came down upon Alvida, utterly crushing her. When the hands disappeared, Alvida was seen, laid out and not moving.

Robin looked at her no longer smiling. "This place, this history, was left to us for a reason. Maybe if you stay here long enough, you will discover it."

"Rooooobiiiiiiiiin!" She heard the child-like voice of her ships doctor and climbed out of the tomb to see him, rather banged up, but still ok.

"Doctor-san, what happened to you?" She ran over to see if he was ok.

"One of Luffy's old enemies came and attacked me. I beat him and then I heard something from over here. SO I figured that you had gotten attacked as well."

"And you were right. She was with that big nosed clown." She looked back at the hole. "Doctor-san, I don't think that this was a coincidence. She asked for Luffy specifically, but she attacked me. And the fact that you were attacked means that the others might be attacked as well."

"I thought so too. Let's get back to the ship." And leaving both Buggy and Alvida behind, the headed back to the Merry.

Ok, this might not be as good as it could have been. I did the best that I could with this one so please R&R. Tell me what I could have done better, or what I could have changed. Other than that, thanks for reading.


	22. Arlong vs Nami

Next Chapter is up. The fight continues.

Arlong was sure that Nami wouldn't pose much of a threat. In fact he was sure that she would simply submit to him the moment that he showed up. However, he wanted her to resist him at least a little bit, just to make it fun. Plus he didn't want it to be easy.

And resist she did. In fact she was resisting him so much that he believed for a second that she actually thought she stood a chance to escape from him. What she said at the beginning of their meeting was true; she was not the same girl that she had been when he captured her all those years ago in her village.

Nami, on the other hand, didn't think she was doing as good against him as he thought she was. She was just thinking about how lucky she was that Arlong wasn't taking her as serious as he could have. She knew from watching his fight with Luffy just how good Arlong was, just how dangerous he could be if he wanted to. She knew quite well that she, by all rights, should be dead right now.

For right now she had escaped Arlong's wrath for a moment, hiding in a small cave on the rocky shore of that beach. She had to calm herself down a little bit so that she could collect herself, steel her resolve to take out the man that had put her through hell for 8 years of her life, and plan out her next move.

She knew for a fact that she wouldn't be able to stand up physically to this man, so she resigned herself to using her mind and her climatact. Usopp had been doing some modifications to her weather controlling weapon, but it hadn't been completed yet. She was still using her older version, but he had been able to complete one aspect of it. And in this battle, this particular little power up would be extremely helpful.

"OK, this is it. Now it's my turn to avenge you, Bellmere-san." She got to her feet and exited the cave. She looked around for her enemy, but was treated to an empty beach.

"Eh, where did he go?" She began to back up slowly, looking around her for Arlong.

"Shark On Darts!" Suddenly, from the sea, Arlong came flying out at Nami aiming his nose at her heart. Nami had just enough time to save her life, but not enough time to save her arm from getting grazed by his nose. Fortunately it wasn't the arm that was holding her climatact, otherwise she would have dropped her weapon and it would have been washed out with the tide. She got back to her feet and looked in his direction, where he stood atop a giant boulder laughing. "So Nami, you ready to give up this little façade and come back with me?"

"Not on your life. I am a pirate; I am my ship's navigator. I won't be going back with you, because am going to kick your ass here and now."

"Heh heh heh, you have got to be kidding me. You, a pirate? You spent your entire life stealing from pirates. In fact you hate pirates. And do you really think that you can beat me? You are still a funny girl. You couldn't kill me when you were close to me."

"I never said that I would kill you, but I will if I have to." Something about Luffy's way of fighting, specifically his tendency to let his opponents live after he beats them, had rubbed off on her, probably on everyone in the crew. She would not kill Arlong here. No, she would not kill him period. Instead she would simply take him out, prove that he didn't control her anymore, and then move on with her life. "And yes, I am a pirate. But I'm not going to explain it to you. Wouldn't want to waste my breath."

Nami got set deciding that a little deception would help her start out this battle the right way. "The weather is perfect here. I should at least be able to avoid him for now." She unhooked one of the links to her weapon and blew in it once.

Arlong, however, wasn't going to have any of that right now. "Sorry, Nami, bit I won't allow you to make any moves now. Shark On Darts!" He launched himself at Nami, once again aiming for her heart. And this time he hit her, or at least he thought he did. At the moment of impact, he saw her dissipate into the wind. "What??"

"Mirage Tenpo. Nice little trick wouldn't you agree?" Nami was standing on a rock not too far away from where her mirage was. She took the Cool Ball link and began spinning it around. "See if you can find me, Arlong." And with that she disappeared, only to reappear once again on the same rock. And then another appeared. And then another and another and another until an entire army of Namis was standing on the beach. "Only one of them is the real me. But it's not a question of whether you can find me. It's whether you can find me in time." And with that, all of the Namis pulled out their second link and began spinning both, creating red and blue balls that floated up into the air.

Arlong was getting noticeably frustrated and began to wildly attack any of the mirages that he could get his hands on. Meanwhile on the far side of the beach, all the way near the end of the army of Namis, the real Nami grinned. 'Perfect. I thought he would lose his focus if I toyed with him a little. Now I can take as much time as I need. And by the time he gets here, it's over.'

Arlong eventually made it to the last few Namis only to be introduced to an even stranger sight. A black cloud that was seemingly out of place on this island, it being a summer island. It also caught on that the cloud was very low and was covering only them. The other mirage Namis faded away as the real Nami stood looking at him, smiling. "Got ya. Thunder Bolt Tenpo." She swung the last link of her weapon at the cloud. Out came a yellow ball that entered the cloud. A few seconds later a massive thunder bolt struck Arlong. He screamed out in pain as the electricity surged through him. He fell face first as soon as it was over.

"Whew, now that was a close one. I should get back to Luffy and Vivi soon, or else the rest of his crew might show up." She began to walk back in the direction of the ship. 'That was easy. Maybe a little too easy. Eh maybe he's just gotten rusty after getting his ass handed to him by Luffy.' Unfortunately that little thought was cast out in an instant. She heard a quiet shuffling behind her and turned to see Arlong standing up.

"Nami, that actually hurt. Congratulations, you are the first non-devil fruit user to hurt me. And your reward IS DEATH!" He lunged at her, grabbed her by the neck, and tossed her into the sea. "Let's see how your cheap parlor tricks work in the sea, in my domain." He dived in after her.

Nami had been trying to swim her way back to the surface but was instantly caught up when Arlong came flying by, cutting her arm. He swam by her several more time with his Shark On Darts attack, causing her multiple wounds on her body. She was beginning to fade a little. She had been under water for a very long time and was running low on air. She had to do something fast, or else she was shark food, no pun intended. She knew none of her orbs would work underwater, and most of the really cheap tricks had already been taken out of the weapon. She had one chance and she prayed that it work. Arlong was closing in for the kill shot. And once she was sure that he wouldn't be able to dodge, she fired her cyclone tenpo at him, which not only was able to move normally through water, but hit right in one of his eyes.

Free of Arlong for the moment she hurried to the shore and got out of the water. She was panting hard and holding as many of the spots she had been cut on as she could. "Ok, I'm out of that hole but now what do I do? Usopp got rid of the tornado tenpo, and I doubt he will let me charge up the thunder bolt tenpo again. I have one more ace up my sleeve but I need to surprise him with it, and make sure that he stays in the sea." She stood up and got ready.

Arlong surfaced, his right eye swollen shut. He looked to the shore and saw Nami, spinning her heat and cool links. "No, not this time Nami." He started towards her when he suddenly felt a very painful shock on his right side. He looked over there and saw Nami standing there with her improved thunder link in hand. "What??? But you were-." Then he looked back at the first Nami, just in time to see it dissipate into the wind. 'Damnit. If she hadn't swollen my eye shut I would have seen her over there.'

"Thank you, Arlong. I doubt I would have had the strength to do any of this had you not done what you did eight years ago. So now I say thank you, and goodbye." He reared her fully charged link back. "Thunder Ball." She fired the immense ball at him. He tried to dodge, but found he couldn't move. 'The first shock paralyzed me.' "Damnit, our plan has been ruined!" He could only watch as the ball contacted him sending a gigantic shock throughout his body, amplified by the fact that he was currently soaked in sea water. He fell back into the water and this time he did not get back up.

Nami fell to her knees on the rock she was standing on. "Gen-san, Nojiko, Bellmere-san, this was for you." Once she finished her little ritual she stood and recalled Arlong's words. " 'Our plans?' That means that he wasn't the only one involved in this. Hmm, that means the others might have been attacked. But if it's everyone else then I'm sure their fine, but just to be safe I'd better head back to the ship. Luffy's probably gonna have to help Usopp out."

And leaving Arlong's smoking body lying in the shallow water and gathering her bag and maps, she made her way back to the ship.

Now why was that fight so long, yet for some reason I couldn't make Robin's fight go any longer than I did? I find that unfair to me and to all of the Nico Robin fans (mainly because I'm one myself). She is my fav female character and second fav character on One Piece. I might have to revise her chapter, unless you all think its fine the way it is. If so then good, if not give me some ideas. I need them. Oh and don't forget to R&R this chapter as well.


	23. Krieg vs Zoro

Ladies and gentlemen, I am back. And I bring you fight number six of my story. Here we go.

Zoro had been looking for someone or something to test out how good he had gotten with his techniques since Alabasta, and now he had it

Krieg, although infinitely slower that he was, still had a slight advantage over him, thanks to his reinforced steel armor, which now covered most of his body. Zoro's attacks were damn near ineffective against Krieg, who for the most part simply had to stand there, moving only to cover the unarmored parts of his body. Zoro, still holding only two of his swords, now stood away from him, trying to find some way of penetrating Krieg's defenses.

"Ahahahahahahaha, so are you ready to give it up now? You have seen how strong I have made my armor. There is no possible way for you to penetrate it."

Zoro simply smiled at his. "Maybe, maybe not. I'll never know until I try, right?" And with that he attacked again. "Nitoryu Nanaju-ni Pondou Hou!" He whirled his swords sending a devastating wind towards Krieg. Krieg was momentarily shocked by the attack but stood his ground not budging an inch.

Then he caught sight of Zoro running straight towards him. "A distraction." Too late he realized Zoro's plan. "Nitoryu Nigiri: Tourou!" Zoro jumped up and brought both of his swords down on to Krieg, aiming for his head. Krieg was barely able to get his forearms up, which were also armored. Zoro, however simply used the force of the blow to propel himself up again. "Outourou!" Zoro, now directly above Krieg, tried to hit him again, only this time he aimed for his armored forearms. Krieg 'blocked' his attack, unaware that he was aiming for his gauntlets. "Hirameki!" Finally Zoro put all of his power into his final attack and struck the gauntlets. He landed behind Krieg and let out a deep breath.

"Was that it, sword boy? Was that really all you could muster up? Because if it was then you are in for a world of hurt." He was about to laugh his head off at Zoro's seemingly vain attempt at injuring him, but his gauntlets picked that very moment to break on him. "Whaaaaaaaat???" Then he remembered. 'Shit, I reinforced my chest plate but I forgot to do it to the rest of my armor'

Zoro let out a light laugh and turned toward him. "If that is all your great armor is then I doubt that this is going to be a very long match." Zoro then got set to attack again.

"Grrrrr, don't get cocky yet. This battle is far from over." And with that Krieg assembled his battle spear. Only this one now sported three blades; two on the sides and one on top. "Now try and come at me."

Zoro, not one to pass up a challenge, gratefully accepted and attacked. Krieg brought his spear down on Zoro, who expertly blocked the coming hit. However he was surprised to see a smile on the face of the armored pirate. That surprise turned to shock when a large explosion came from the spear, sending Zoro straight to the ground. Krieg laughed.

"What? Did your captain forget to tell you about my spears nice little ability?" Krieg sneered down at the swordsman, but was not surprised to see him stand. Not after the fight he had with the captain. "Good, now I can have some more fun with you." He swung his spear down upon the swordsman again. There was a clang of metal on metal and then a loud boom. Krieg laughed again at the stupidity of his opponent. That laughter stopped when the smoke cleared and Zoro was still standing, the Wado Ichimonji in his mouth, and his bandana on his head.

"You know, I've just about had it with your mouth. More importantly, I've just about had enough of this spear, so what do you say we get rid of it?" He got set for his attack. "Santoryu Tatsumaki!" He created a huge whirlwind that blew the spear right out of Krieg's hands and into the distance.

Krieg was in shock but kept his cool. "So what? I still have tons of weapons to use against you." Suddenly, 6 guns appeared on various points of his armor. Try this on for size. Hell storm Barrage!" Krieg then fired all of his weapons at Zoro.

However Zoro, in a flash of sword movements, deflected each and every bullet send his way. Krieg kept on firing and Zoro just kept on deflecting them. Finally Krieg ran out of ammunition; however he was not going to give up just yet. "Ok then, let's see how you handle this." He pulled out a spare shield and set it up for his most devastating attack. "Try this. MH5, poison gas." He fired the shell straight at Zoro, who, remembering the explanation that Luffy and Sanji gave him, was ready for it.

"Santoryu Hyaku-Hachi Pondou Hou!" He swung all three of his swords at the shell and let loose a powerful gust of ki at the shell. The shell was blown far away over a cliff where it would explode harmlessly in the water. Well, harmlessly as far as Zoro was concerned. "Is that all? Because I have a move that I want to try out now, and you seem like a prime customer." He sheathed the Kitestu and the Yubashiri and took the Wado in his right hand. He then closed his eyes and began to breathe slowly.

'This must be what it was.' He began to think to himself. 'When I used it on him, I was able to hear the breath of everything. All I have to do is calm myself and listen. Then I can have the power to cut nothing….' He slashed at a bush near him and didn't cut a single leaf. '…..and the power to cut anything.' Switching hands he slashed at a tree trunk, slicing cleanly through it.

Krieg watched the entire scene with little interest. "Hey! What are you doing? I'm still standing right here!" He then lunged at Zoro trying to knock him out with his diamond knuckles.

Zoro had already sheathed the Wado and was preparing to attack. "Ittoryu Iai…." Krieg was getting closer and closer, but it was already too late. "Shishi Sonson!" And in a flash, Zoro lunged forward, slashed at his armor, and stopped leaving just an inch of his sword unsheathed.

Krieg was left standing there wondering what the hell had just happened. He looked down at his armor to see that it still didn't have a scratch on it. He began to laugh once again. "Was that it? That was nothing!" Krieg continued to laugh as Zoro sheathed the rest of his sword. And in that instant Krieg's new, reinforced steel armor, split in half.

Krieg couldn't believe his eyes. "Whaaaaaaaaaat??? This can't be real! That was the best armor in the world! You shouldn't have been able to cut it!"

Zoro simply sighed. "Damn, I was trying to cut you as well. Guess I gotta work on that a little more." He placed the Wado back in his mouth and took out his other swords and set up for the last attack. "Later. Oni…… Giri!" And using his trademark technique, he slashed into Krieg's chest, not killing him, but at least making sure that he wouldn't be fighting anytime soon.

Zoro sheathed his swords and removed his bandana, looking back on his victim. "I have definitely been hanging around Luffy too long." He thought for a second. "Speaking of which, something tells me that this bastard isn't the only one here. I'd better get back to the ship before I miss out on whatever fun is about to go down." Tying his bandana to his arms again, he then ran off……

In the complete opposite direction of the ship.

Now of course I Just had to put that last bit in there. I was something that I had neglected to put into the other chapters so I apologize to all of the Zoro fans out there.

Ok Almost done with the fight scenes. I'll try to make the last one go for a little longer than I have. SO please R&R and I will try to get back up as soon as possible.


	24. The Final Fight Begins

Ok here we go again.

"Kohza?" Vivi was still in shock at the sudden appearance of her old friend from Alabasta. The fact that he was with an old enemy of Luffy's never even occurred to her for a second. All that mattered right then was Kohza. "Kohza, what are you doing here?"

Kohza smirked at her remark. "What, no 'hi', 'hello', or 'how are you doing'? Sheesh I thought that we were friends."

"But what are you doing here? How did you find me?" Her mood was starting to lighten a little bit, once the initial shock of seeing him passed over.

"Find you? That was a simple task considering that one of my new crew members happens to have sailed the grand line before. In fact he was a member of Gold Roger's crew when he sailed."

"Awesoooooooooome. Can I meet him? I want to meet him. Please can I meet him?" Luffy begged of Kohza who didn't pay him any mind.

Vivi had jumped down off of the Merry and looked at her old friend. "Why are you here now? I would have thought that you would have remained in Alabasta. My father did offer you a place in the Royal Army, and even though you didn't accept you would still be a valuable asset to Alabasta's defense."

"Maybe you are right. Maybe I would have helped out a little, if I had decided to stay." He began to pace slowly back and forward. "However something had decided to leave me. Something that was important to me. And now…." He stopped pacing and looked straight and Vivi. "I have come to take it back."

"Eh? But we didn't take anything from you." Luffy looked on from the ship.

"Yes you did straw hat." He looked up at Luffy with a cold stare and spoke in a dark voice. "You took something that meant a great deal to me. And for that I won't forgive you. Not now, not ever."

Vivi looked on a little confused. This was a side of Kohza that she hadn't seen ever. "Kohza, what are you talking about?"

He looked back at her. "I'm talking about you, Vivi. Everything was fine all the way until that filthy pirate came and took you away from me. Away from your country. He had no right to do so."

Vivi was now even more confused. "K-Kohza. Did you not receive my letter? It told you that I was leaving on my own free will. I didn't want to leave the country, but my desire to travel outweighed that. I wanted to have adventures again with Luffy and the crew."

"See right there. Tell me something would that have happened had that bastard not come to the country? No you will not give up everything just to be with this piece of garbage pirate. I will not allow it. And I will kill anyone I have to to make sure that you end up back on your throne in Alabasta."

"Kohza what is wrong with you? It is already too late. Father has already cut me from the family name and the Marines have already recognized me as a member of the straw hat crew. Even if I did want to go back, I can't."

"I don't care about any of that! You will be coming back to Alabasta with me." He then drew his sword. "Whether you wish to go back or not."

Now Vivi was scared. Kohza had never spoken to her in this manner of speech. Even during the times when he was scolding her, there was still that small glimmer of kindness in his voice. Now it was gone, almost as if it was never really there. "K-Kohza…"

This of course caught the attention of the captain, who also jumped from the ship. "Oi you. I don't know what you're planning to do but Vivi is my nakama now. She isn't going back."

Kohza looked at him. "Yes she is, and no one, not even you, is going to stop me."

"You wanna fight?" Luffy got himself set.

"No straw hat I don't want to fight. I want to see you dead before me."

"Just try it! Gomu gomu no pistol!" He sent a punch flying straight to Kohza's face.

Kohza smiled as the punch flew towards him. At the last minute Bellamy, who had spent most of his time fuming at how he had been so easily forgotten, jumped in front of Kohza and stopped the punch. "Straw hat, your fight is with me." Bellamy knocked Luffy's fist away and then set himself up for an attack. "Spring Snipe!" He launched himself at Luffy who easily jumped away from the oncoming Bellamy.

Vivi was still looking at Kohza trying to comprehend just who or what this man that was standing in front of her was, 'cause it sure wasn't the man she had grown up with. "K-Kohza…" Kohza simply smiled at her and turned his attention towards the fight.

"Gomu gomu no muchi!" Luffy stretched his leg and brought it around Bellamy's side, but Bellamy simply bounced upwards avoiding the kick. He then used a nearby building to bounce straight towards Luffy. However Luffy was ready for him "Fuusen." He inflated his body at the last second making Bellamy bounce harmlessly off of his body. Bellamy was sent flying backwards and Luffy took advantage! "Stamp." He sent his foot flying straight into Bellamy"s chest and forced him back to the ground. "And Yari (Spear)!" Putting the bottoms of his feet together he shot them straight to Bellamy. Bellamy barely dodged the attack, rolling off to the side. He stood as Luffy landed on the ground a few yards away from him.

"Heh heh heh, as you can see I've gotten much better since our last fight. No lucky one hit win for you today straw hat."

"Who cares how many times I have to hit you to beat you? Fact is I will kick your ass again."

"You say that now straw hat but things are different this time around. For starters I have some powerful people on my side this time, and right about now they should be taking out your crew members as we speak."

Luffy looked at him for a second. "Nah, they are fine. Well maybe except Usopp. I might have to end this quickly so that I can help him out."

"Hey! I wasn't finished yet. Anyway I also have Kohza on my side and with his abilities you don't stand a chance at winning against me."

"Kohza took this moment to speak up. "Tell me straw hat, how much do you know about the cursed fruits?"

"Ehhh, not too much. Just that me, Chopper, and Robin all got our powers from them."

"Well then I guess that I can give you a little class on them."

"There are three types of fruits; paramecia, zoan, and logia. Paramecia users have their bodies altered in some way, like how you can stretch your body or how Bellamy has springs on his legs. Then there are the zoan users who gain different transformations based on the fruit. Your little deer friend is such a user."

"Oi, he's a reindeer. Remember that."

"Fine. And lastly the logia users. The rarest of the fruits and therefore the strongest of them. They change the user's body to a certain substance. Like Crocodile, or your brother. And now I have the power of the rarest of the logia types. You may have been able to beat Crocodile, but he was nothing compared to the wrath that I will now unleashed upon you. Get ready straw hat because your end has arrived in the form of the rarest of all of the devil fruits. And it's name……"

He held his hand up and a tall pillar of water appeared in the sea behind him.

"Mizu."

Ok I know what you all are thinking, and don't worry. It's gonna be nothing like that.

As always R&R.


	25. Help Me!

Final fight part two.

Luffy looked up at the pillar of water with a completely blank look on his face. "Oh, that could be trouble."

Vivi, on the other hand, had gone into near complete shock. She had already figured out that he had indeed gotten himself a devil fruit ability. That much was obvious by the little speech that he had put on, combined with the fact that, even if he was completely out of his mind at the moment, if he wanted to have any chance of even competing with Luffy, he was going to need one. But this was the last things she had expected him to come up with. "M-mizu? B-b-but I thought that it was just a legend. Just a fairy tale that was told to us when we were kids. There was no way that such a fruit could possibly exist. That would make the user….."

"Invincible." Kohza finished for her. "Yes such a fruit does exist. Far away from civilization in the deepest, most dangerous parts of the Alabastan sea of sand. There lied a secret cave where a lone fruit waited for someone to claim it. And now that I have, no one, not even Crocodile himself, can stop me."

Bellamy smirked. "So get ready straw hat. You may have gotten yourself out of a few scrapes in the past, but this is one fight that you have no chance of walking out of. Spring Snipe!" He launched himself at Luffy.

"That again. Gomu Gomu no Fuu….." But he never finished because Kohza picked that moment to use his powers to wrap sea water around his legs, rendering his powers useless. Bellamy hit Luffy straight in the face, sending him flying back. Luffy hit the building behind him with a wicked thud.

Luffy stood up again and looked at the two men. "Fine then you go first. Gomu Gomu No Pistol!" he sent his fist straight for Kohza. Kohza simply smiled and raised his hand, creating a massive wall of water in front of himself. When Luffy's fist touched the wall, it retracted straight back to the owner.

Luffy observed the scene. "Damnit. I can't hit either of them because of the water." Then he saw his answer. "Of course. Vivi! You aren't affected by the water. I need you to help me."

Vivi was still standing off to the side, watching the scene unfold, still not able to completely register what was going on. "Kohza, why…."

"Vivi!" Luffy tried to get her attention, but didn't succeed as he was once again knocked back, this time by a giant wave that Kohza had summoned.

"So straw hat, are you ready to surrender just yet, or are you still _thirsty_ for more?" He chuckled at his own joke.

Luffy slowly stood up. "Man this isn't good. Vivi! Come on, help me." He gave it one more try, but was met with the same response.

"Damnit, he might be right. I might not be walking out of this one by the time this is over. Where are the others?"

"Oh, I doubt that they will get here anytime soon. Even if they get past my first surprise I still have another waiting." Kohza smiled wickedly

Near the middle of the island…..

Robin and Chopper had been fighting through the waves of bandits that had decided to show up. It seemed as if there was no end to them. That was when Robin noticed the water and how it was seemingly shifting unnaturally.

"Doctor-san, can you keep them busy for a second? I'm going to see what's going on at the ship."

"Go on ahead Robin. I can handle this."

She nodded and crossed her arms. "Eye Fleur." An eye appeared on one of the buildings near the fight as she saw it unfold. "This is bad. Sencho-san is losing his fight and princess-san seems like she is in shock right now."

"How is Luffy losing? Whoever it is can't possibly be much worse that Crocodile right?" Chopper asked knocking away another bandit.

"The man he is fighting appears to have a devil fruit ability. An ability that lets him control water."

"WHAAAAAAT? An ability like that exists?" Chopper was nearly shocked right out of his fur but continued to fight.

"Even if there isn't much we could possibly do, we must hurry and help him." She said a slight hint of worry in her voice.

"Robin-chwaaaaaan! I am here to rescue you." The slightly perverted tones of the ships cook could be heard from behind them, and sure enough Sanji and Usopp were coming up from their own little adventure.

"Sanji, Usopp, you guys alright?" Chopper asked now finished with the bandits.

"Aside from a few cuts and bruises, yea were good. Don't supposed you guys were attacked by someone were you?" Usopp spoke.

"That is correct long-nose-kun. It was someone tat Sencho-san had already defeated. Apparently they were trying to get revenge on him through us."

"I see. Well I guess we should head back to the ship. Then since I'm sure he is probably gonna be a target as well."

"A little too late there. He's already being attacked, and according to Robin he's getting beat. We will explain on the wa-. Huh?" Something caught Chopper's attention. "Oh, it's Nami. Let's get to her so we can explain all of this."

On the other side of the island.

"Argh, why do I always end up back at this cliff?" Zoro looked over the cliff for the fifth time now. "No time to waste, I have to get back to the ship now, before Luffy steals all the fun." And once again he took off……….

In the complete opposite direction of the ship.

Back at the ship……..

Luffy was starting to wind down a little. In truth he was never really able to get things going in the first place. Every time he even attempted to mount some kind of offense, Kohza would simply use his powers to stop him in his tracks. The rest of his crew had not come back yet and he wasn't even sure if they even knew that he was in trouble. His only real hope at this point was Vivi, who still remained unresponsive off to the side.

"Ok I guess we are done playing with you now. Mizu bubble!" He created a giant bubble full of water with Luffy inside of it. Luffy never had a chance to escape from its grasp.

Vivi watched on in horror. She was torn inside. On the one hand she knew she had to help Luffy. He was her captain. She needed him to survive. He was the reason she was alive today, the reason her country was still there, and part of the reason she had decided to leave her country. If he died there would be no reason for her to stay with the ship.

On the other hand Kohza had been her friend since before she could remember. There was no way that she could ever raise any kind of weapon against him. Even if he was different from the Kohza that she knew he was still leader in her mind. "Kohza, leader, please stop this now. He has done nothing to you please release him."

"Hmm, no. Not until you agree to return to Alabasta with me. And if you still refuse to comply then maybe I should try someone a little closer to home. Like, oh I don't know maybe, Cobra?"

She froze. "You…. you would…."

"He is at fault as well for letting you leave. He will share the same watery grave that this filthy pirate is buried in." Luffy's body had almost gone limp. He was running out of air fast. "oh, you should have seen his face when I told him that I was bringing you back. He tried to stop me too, but the sword that I held next to his neck quickly changed his mind."

'He really isn't the same person that I once knew. Fine, I see how it is then.' She hung her head down low, letting her bangs hide her face. Finally…. "Kohza?"

"Yes Vivi, have you fina-" His words were cut off as he was yanked back by his neck and thrown against a building.

The bubble disappeared and Luffy was set free. Bellamy looked over at Kohza and found a sort of string like thing wrapped around his neck. A string that led back to Vivi.

"I'm sorry Kohza. I know that we may have been friends for a long time, and for that time I had the upmost respect for you. You tried to kill Luffy, and even though I knew something was wrong with you then, I still believed that deep down you were still the Kohza that I knew. But when you threatened to kill my father that was the last straw. I won't simply stop at defeating you." She raised her head and looked straight at Kohza. If the eyes were the windows to one's soul, then hers was a raging inferno that showed no signs of stopping. "Kohza, I'm going to kill you."

Yay, we finally get to see a darker side to Vivi, something that I'm sure most of you will somewhat appreciate considering how soft she was in the anime.

Ok ppl, you know the drill by know. Read, Review, and have a nice day.


	26. Kohza vs Vivi

I'm praying to the Gods that this one gets a good reaction from you readers. So here it is; Kohza vs. Vivi

Luffy was probably the only one who wasn't surprised by Vivi's sudden attack, but that was mainly because he was still working to catch his breath after nearly drowning.

Bellamy had damn near forgotten that the woman was even there. He had been so focused on beating straw hat that Vivi never even really registered into his mind.

Kohza, on the other hand, was just completely shocked that she had even attacked him in the first place. He had been counting on the fact that her kind demeanor, not to mention their history, would have prevented her from ever raising a hand against him. Hell, he had guaranteed it. So when he looked up to see Vivi giving him a glare that would have made even Crocodile cringe in fear, if only a little bit, He completely froze.

However that only lasted for a little bit, then he was back to his perfectly calm demeanor. "Kill me? Please. You could barely hurt a fly, even during Crocodile's invasion. Sure you may have had a fight here or there, but you are basically harmless. And with my new powers, that puts you at a disadvantage. Sure you may have surprised me with your initial attack, but I swear that won't happen again. Now that I know you are coming, you won't be able to hit me."

Then Vivi did something completely out of character, as far as Kohza was concerned. She gave him a cocky smile. "Really? And I suppose that will be because of your new mizu logia powers right? Well then I suggest you think twice about that. Peacock Whip!" She shot a string out to the side and swung it right into his side. Kohza was sent flying into a nearby building.

Bellamy was in a state of pure shock. "K-Kohza you idiot. What the hell are you doing? Use your powers. It should have passed right through you."

Kohza was staring at his hands shocked. "I don't get it. Why didn't they activate?"

"Confused Kohza? Well let me explain a few things, since you never heard the true story behind that fruit." Vivi spoke directly to Kohza ignoring anyone else's existence. "That fruit that you found was indeed a very powerful fruit, but there was one mistake with the translation that the storyteller made. It isn't a logia type fruit. A fruit like that would contradict itself, giving the person who consumed it the power to turn into that which weakens him. Surely you should have noticed that every time you used your powers, the water came from the ocean and not from your own body, didn't you?"

Kohza was struck with this realization. 'She is right. I never created the water from my own body, but I thought I was just using it wrong.' However this seemed to only enrage the man. "It doesn't matter. All that means is that you can hit me. You still won't be able to beat me."

"I don't want to beat you Kohza. I will kill you." She began to walk slowly towards him. "You threatened to kill my father and my nakama. All because you want me to do something that I don't want to do. All because I followed my heart out to the sea with my friends. You tried to exploit my kindness so that I wouldn't fight against you. But that person that you wanted is gone now. Luffy has given me a new life, a new strength. I will never be able to thank him enough for that. And now you want to take that all away from me? Everything that I fought so hard for, all the days and nights that I trained with Chaka, all of the days that I spent at sea hoping to find their ship, everything that I have done up until now. You think that I will just stand idly by and let you take me away from all of that? No, you will be the one who has everything taken away, because today I will end your life."

"Go ahead and try Vivi, but one way or the other you are coming back with me. Mizu….." He gathered up some water into a ball and hovered it over his hand. "Bullet!" The water then shot towards Vivi at an incredibly high speed.

Vivi simply cocked her head to the side and the water ball flew past her.

"Dodge this then. Mizu Machine Gun!" He fired off shot after shot in rapid succession. Vivi then started to move, dodging each and everyone with excellent grace, almost as if she were dancing around them.

"Ok then try this one. Mizu………" He held both of his arms up and concentrated. The water behind him began to rise. "Wave!" He thrust them forward and the water suddenly rushed towards Vivi. She was engulfed in a massive wave and it seemed like there was no escaping this.

"Like I said, harmless." But he was in for a shock, because once the wave stopped, Vivi was still standing. "What but how…." Then he saw his answer. Vivi had shot both of her strings into the ground and used them to keep herself from getting washed away with the water.

Vivi let out a light laugh, and Kohza began to wonder just what could possibly be so funny right now. "Peacock Mole!" Suddenly the ends of the string shot out from under him catching him off guard. One missed him but the other pierced his left shoulder. He jumped back and pulled the string out, then set up for his next attack. "Mizu Whirlpool!" He gathered a lot of water and formed a whirlpool, then sent it straight towards Vivi. Vivi sent a string to a lamp post and pulled, getting herself out of the way of the charging whirlpool. Kohza simply redirected the whirlpool. Vivi continued to dodge it until she became fed up with it, and decided to try something new. She let her strings hang and jumped straight into the whirlpool.

"Ha, are you insane? Now you will never escape." Kohza intensified the spin of the whirlpool, making it go faster.

Vivi, on the other hand, had other plans as to how this would end. She let the whirlpool spin her around and around, and when she was sure that she was at an adequate speed, she sent one of her strings out. It came out of the whirlpool and before Kohza could even think to react, caught him square in the side. With his concentration broken, he was unable to maintain the whirlpool and it stopped. The water fell to the ground and Vivi was left standing, panting. It had been a gutsy move to say the least as there was a chance that she might not have pulled it off, and she would have ended up drowning.

Kohza was now getting really angry. Even with his powers, even though it was against Vivi, he was still losing badly. "Grr, Bellamy! We will take her together."

Bellamy was a little skeptical at first at the idea of two devil fruit users going against one woman, but he soon stepped up next to him.

Luffy, who had been standing off to the side cheering Vivi on, was about to step in as well. "Oi two against one isn't fair." However he would also become a victim of shock, courtesy of the former princess of Alabasta.

"Luffy stay out of this!" All parties present had to check their ears to see if they heard her right.

"No, I want to fight now." Luffy cracked his knuckles.

Vivi's voice softened for the first time since she started fighting. "Luffy, please understand. This is my fight, and I have to fight it alone." She turned to him, but made sure to keep an eye on her two opponents. "I trained so hard so that I could fight my own battles when I returned to the crew. If I don't do this on my own then I will feel like all the training that I did was for nothing. I don't want to have to rely on you to fight all of my battles for me. So please, sit this one out for me ok?"

Luffy looked straight into her eyes the whole time. No one will ever know what was going through his mind at that time. "Ok, then. But if I do this then you have to promise me that you will win."

She sent him a sweet smile. "No problem." She then turned back to her opponents. He face steeled again. "Ok boys, you ready to play?"

"You've grown some guts since we last met. You are not only going up against two devil fruit users, but you have denied help from one as well. DO you really think you have a chance to beat us with just those toys?" He pointed to her strings.

"Maybe not with just these, but fortunately I have something for just such an occasion." She retracted her strings, crossed her hands at the wrists, closed her eyes and focused. "You will be the first ones to ever see this. Be honored. Peacock String……" Her hands began to shake. "Spider!" She thrust her arms out to her sides, and eight strings, one on each of her index, middle, ring, and pinky fingers, shot out. Unlike her usual strings, and for obvious reasons, these did not spin. Instead they slumped down from her fingers to the ground.

Kohza was somewhat surprised by this but remained calm. "So you have more of them now. Big deal. You still can't beat us."

"Kohza I will not tell you again, so listen up this time. I am not going to beat you. I am going to kill you. So get ready, 'cause I'm through with going easy on you."

Ok people, I need honest opinions on this one. We are just about at the climax and I need so feedback, positive and negative, about how I have done so far. Also if there are any ideas that you all want to see please share those too. Other than that, R&R as always and I'll see ya'll later.


	27. Round 2

Kohza and Bellamy vs. Vivi. Here we go.

Vivi stood stern in front of her two enemies, her strings resting loosely from her finger tips. She knew full well that she was taking a chance with this fight. After all, she hadn't had a chance to truly test her abilities in a completely uncontrolled fight. Now here she was, getting ready to fight two devil fruit users by herself. In the back of her mind, a small voice screamed, "Are you out of your mind?"

However she had meant what she had said to Luffy. She needed to do this on her own. "Ok boys, bring it."

"Oh don't worry, we shall." Kohza raised his hands, apparently wanting the first move. "Mizu Blast!" A powerful stream of water rushed towards Vivi, but she was ready for it.

"Peacock Spider Dome!" She crossed her arms and her strings moved immediately, almost as if they responded to her thoughts rather than her movements, forming a dome around her, with the ends digging into the ground. The blast of water hit the dome but never budged it. Once the blast was finished she loosened the strings, letting them fall from their dome shape.

She was lucky that she did it then. Any later and she wouldn't have seen Bellamy coming straight at her. Thinking quickly she jumped to the side, letting a string hang loosely where she was. Once Bellamy was entangled within the string she pulled hard, using Bellamy's own momentum to swing him around, sending him back where he came from.

Bellamy was momentarily disoriented but regained himself just enough to turn his body so that his spring legs hit the building first, then set up for his counter-attack.

"Spring Javelin!" He sprang off of the wall, made a wedge with his hands, and pointed his body directly at her. She jumped up and let him pass directly over her, but was unable to dodge the oncoming blast of water that Kohza sent her way. She skidded along the ground to a stop. She got back to her feet, but was met with Bellamy's spring powered punch to her stomach. She was sent flying back into the side of a building and fell to her knees, coughing and clutching her stomach.

Kohza wasted no time with his next attack. "Mizu Bullet!" He created a small water sphere and sent it straight towards her, hitting her right in the cheek. "And again." Another one, this time hitting her in her side. "And again." One more to her gut. "And Mizu Machine Gun!" He fired them off in quick succession, and all of them hit their target on various points on her body. Her face held nothing but pain and anguish, but she never screamed once. When Kohza was finished, she staggered a little, but remained on her feet. She then looked Kohza straight in the eye and said, "Is that all you got?"

Bellamy then got his next attack ready. "Spring Snipe!" He launched himself at Vivi, aiming a fist at her face. Vivi ducked the punch and attempted to attack Bellamy as he flew past, but barely caught sight of the many water bullets that Kohza sent her way. She jumped to the side and tried to attack back. "Peacock Spider……" The attack never even truly initiated. Bellamy had come from behind Vivi and attacked, hitting her square in her back. She was sent sailing across the ground and skidded to a stop. Bellamy bounced back next to Kohza, crossed his arms, and smiled. Vivi slowly stood, spitting out a little bit of blood, and stared defiantly at them.

Kohza smiled. "Do you really think that you still have a chance at winning this? You may be able to take us one at a time, but we just proved that against the both of us, you have no chance of winning." Bellamy laughed from his spot beside Kohza. "You are going to wish that you let straw hat help you with this battle."

Over near the Merry, Luffy stood nearly seething. Partly because he had wanted to fight, and partly because his nakama was being hurt and there was nothing he could do about it. True he could have used his position as captain to override her decision to fight alone, but that wasn't him. He knew automatically that if he did that, she would probably never trust him again. So he stood, balled his fist, clenched his teeth, and watched.

Vivi looked Bellamy in the eye. "I don't know who you are, or what your connection with Kohza is, but I do know that you wish to cause harm to my nakama. So I will go through you if I have to." She began to think. 'Ok, I can't fight them both at the same time. They just proved that. I'm going to have to get rid of one of them first.' She looked from Kohza to Bellamy a few times, and then stopped her stare at Bellamy. 'Going strictly by powers, Bellamy seems to be the weaker of the two. He also seems to have the shortest temper as well. I go for him first.' "Peacock String Bullet!" She shot one of her strings straight at Bellamy.

Bellamy smiled and hopped to the side avoiding the attack, then prepared his own attack. "Spring Ram!" He sprang off at her holding both fists out in front of him. She brought her strings up to block, keeping Kohza in mind. And sure enough Bellamy stopped and bounced away at the last minute, followed by dozens of water balls heading straight for her.

Reacting quickly she made her dome and protected herself, then let it fall and looked for Bellamy. He came from her right side, aiming both of his fists at her once again. She ducked under him once again and looked for Kohza's attack. However when it never came she smiled. 'Of course, he won't attack me while Bellamy is near.' She decided to use his temper against him. "What's the matter? Afraid that I'm gonna beat you with just one hit as well?" She remembered the brief dialogue that he and Luffy shared.

She had pushed the right button and Bellamy took the bait easily. "Ok, keep talking after this." He planted himself and got ready. "Spring Hopper!" He began to bounce many times around her picking up speed every time he bounced. Vivi smiled at this. 'Perfect. Now Kohza can't use his powers to hit me.' She observed his bouncing for a moment, and then made her move. "Peacock Spider……." She raised her right arm into the air, keeping her fingers connected. Her strings all shot up and twisted around one another to form one large string. She waited and waited and waited until…. "Slam!" She brought it down hard to the ground at her side, with Bellamy under it. He was hit so hard that he actually bounced off of the ground, allowing her to set up for her finishing touch. "And Runback!" She sent the string straight out in front of her and brought it back, hitting him hard and sending him flying through several buildings before he finally stopped just outside of one building.

Vivi smiled at him. "Well, it was more than one hit, but you still went down." She then turned a cold stare back at Kohza. "And now it's just you and me."

Kohza looked on in utter disgust. He couldn't believe that Bellamy had allowed himself to be beaten so easily buy this one woman. 'Figures, you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself.' "Don't get cocky. You may have beaten him, but I still have the greatest ability of all devil fruit users. You still don't have a chance against me. Besides, I'm sure that the rest of my crew should be returning soon to finish up this little battle." Unfortunately he was in for a rude awakening.

"So you are the one that tried to hurt my beautiful ladies." From behind Vivi came the voice of the ships slightly perverted cook. And he was with the navigator, the doctor, the archaeologist, and the sniper/shipwright.

"What??!! But this can't be! There is no way that you could have beaten them!"

"Please, do you think we spent this whole time letting Luffy fight all of our battles for us?" Nami asked, waving her climatact.

"We got better while we were with him!" Chopper yelled out.

"It's true. Even I was able to win on my own." Usopp said proudly.

"I will not forgive you for attempting to hurt this crew." Came a voice that Kohza recognized.

"M-M-Miss All Sunday??? Why are you here?" Kohza was in shock.

"I am a part of sencho-san's crew as well. And I no longer go by my Baroque Works call sign. My name is Nico Robin."

The name rang bells inside of Kohza's head. "Wait, not the same Nico Robin with the 79,000,000 berry bounty on her head?" He remembered that particular bounty by the fact that she was so young when he saw the bounty.

"I do not wish to speak of that right now. Right now, protecting this crew is my only concern."

Before anyone could move, Luffy noticed that his crew was short one person. "Oi, where's Zoro?"

(Back at the cliff)

"What the hell??? Why am I back here again???" Zoro found himself back at the same cliff for the 30th time.

"Damn it all, I have to hurry up before they steal away all of the fun." And with that he set off………

In the direction of the ship.

(Back at the ship)

Luffy's question didn't take anyone by surprise. In fact no one was expecting Zoro to be there. "Eh, he's probably still lost somewhere on the island. Don't worry about him." Nami said rather nonchalantly.

"Yea besides, we need to focus on kicking this bastard's ass right now." Sanji was just about to unload when……

"No!" The captain's voice rang loudly throughout the area. "Vivi said she wanted to fight this battle on her own, so we have to respect that."

Everyone looked at Luffy, Sanji on the verge of strongly protesting, when Vivi spoke up. "That is right. Luffy, Robin, and Chopper can't help me anyway since he can control water. And this is personal. I have to finish this on my own.

Everyone listened intently, and decided that she was right, though Sanji did so with a lot of reluctance.

Vivi then turned back to Kohza. "Ok, Kohza, you and me. Let's end it."

And there it is. Will Vivi be able to defeat her old friend? Will the rest of the crew really be able to keep themselves from interfering? And will Zoro ever be able to find his way back to the ship? Only time will tell.

As usual, R&R, and I will post the next chap as soon as I can.


	28. Battle's End

This is it, folks. Who will come out on top?

The battle ground was deathly silent. There were no birds in the sky and the wind had completely stopped. Even the waves had calmed down. It was almost as if nature itself had decided to stop what it was doing and watch the oncoming battle.

Off to the side near their ship, the straw hat pirates looked on. Nami, Sanji, Chopper, and Usopp were all openly cheering her on, though Sanji was decidedly more open with it. "Vivi-chwan, when you kick this guy's ass I will give you a nice full body massage! With oils! And you can wear your bikini! Or not!" This comment promptly got him a fist to his head, but he didn't care as it was Nami that hit him.

Luffy and Robin had opted to simply standing and watching their newest member fight with small grins on their faces, though for different reasons. Luffy already knew that he had nothing to worry about with Vivi. She had gotten infinitely times better that she was when they first met. This guy may have had his devil fruit ability, but against Vivi, that wouldn't matter. So Luffy stood and watched, confident that his nakama would hold up her end of their little bargain.

Robin, on the other hand, was actually quite interested in just how much the former princess had improved. Yes in Alabasta she had easily defeated her in their only battle, so she didn't expect much at first. But when the captain said that she wanted to fight this battle on her own, her eyebrow raised slightly. When she looked at the princess this time, actually looked at her, there was something else in her eyes. Something that wasn't there before. This intrigued her, so she would look on and see just how much she had indeed improved.

Kohza stood looking down his former friend, one he had at one time respected above all else. The confident look on his face had already left when she started fighting him. Then he found out that his colleagues had failed as well, and the straw hat crew had arrived to help out. Now the anger had started to set in. Now he knew for a fact that he was not getting his way. 'Fine then. If I can't have her then no one will.' "Vivi, you said at the start of this battle that you were going to kill me. Well, that is not going to happen, because the one that will be leaving this battle a corpse will be you."

Vivi listen to him, her eyes finally growing more serious. The raging inferno that burned in her eyes only intensified with his statement. 'Looks like he's done taking it easy on me.' However she would not say anything back to him. The time for words was over. Her fingers tensed as she prepared herself for this fight. 'Only one of us will walk away from this.'

The air grew thick with anticipation. Time seemed to slow almost to a halt. The crew waited anxiously to see who would make the first move, and to see who would leave the battle field.

"Mizu Blast!" Kohza brought his hands up and two powerful streams of water rushed towards Vivi. They came so fast that Vivi almost didn't have time to react.

"Peacock Spider Dome!" She created her dome again, but this time the blast actually knocked her backwards. Kohza intensified the blast, hoping to break through her dome. Vivi was able to roll the dome to the side, narrowly escaping having her strings broken through. She dropped the dome, and prepared the counter attack, wrapping her strings around each other to form her one big string.

"Peacock Spider Whip!" She brought it around Kohza's side. He fired his blast at the string to stop it, and just barely did. He turned back to Vivi, and narrowly avoided getting pierced by the string that she shot towards him.

"Mizu Machine Gun!" He fired of his rapid fire water balls at her. She attempted to dodge them all, even using her strings to knock a few away when she couldn't, but was unsuccessful, and got caught by one on her leg. Kohza saw his window and unloaded, never letting up. Vivi was getting pummeled by his attacks, but fought through the pain and attacked.

Peacock String Guillotine!" Shooting two strings out, one on either side of Kohza, she brought them together in a scissor motion. Because she didn't have any real power behind it though, she was not able to remove his upper torso from his lower torso, instead crushing a couple of his ribs. His attack stopped and she was freed, not wasting a minute. She rushed towards him before he could recover.

"Peacock Spider Revolution!" She spun around in a full 360 degree spin. Kohza was unable to move out of the way fast enough and was knocked hard against the side of a building.

Vivi stopped then, waiting to see whether or not her latest onslaught had done any real damage to him. Her eyes narrowed slightly when Kohza stood from the small pile of rubble that he had been buried under. His eyes now matched hers. "Ok, let's see how you like this one. Mizu….." He gathered the water and formed it into a drill like shape. He did a grossly overexagerated thrust with his arms towards her. "Drill!" He fired the drill at an incredible speed.

Vivi had just enough time to move a few feet to the side, and that turned out to be just enough to evade the high speed drill. A few seconds later she became extremely glad that she didn't try to block it. The water drill had made its way cleanly through a building, leaving no cracks in the stone structure.

Vivi turned back to Kohza, and for the first time since the battle began she showed a hint of fear in her eyes. Kohza saw this and pressed his advantage. "Have some more!" He summoned a few more drills and fired them off.

Vivi rolled to the right and dodged one, then made a near fatal mistake when she jumped into the air to dodge the second one. Kohza smiled, thinking that he had her right where he wanted her.

Vivi, however, already anticipated this; evident by the fact that right before she jumped she dug a couple of her strings into the ground. So merely a second before she would have been impaled, she pulled hard and slammed herself into the ground. She stood back up and faced him once again.

Even though it angered Kohza that his latest move was unsuccessful, he held his composure down. Then something hit him. "Well, if she can't block it then all I have to do is make her try to block it. Just like this.' He formed one more drill and aimed it for…..

The straw hat crew's ship. "Go ahead and avoid this one, Vivi! Mizu Drill!" He fired the drill.

Vivi rushed over to stand in front of the ship. 'No choice, I have to try.' "Peacock Spider Bullet!" She formed her giant string once more and fired it at the center of the drill.

The two met at the half way point, both parties with intense looks on their faces.

And Vivi's string went right through the drill. Not wasting a minute she separated the string while it was still in the drill and spun her strings like a fan, causing the drill to break apart.

Kohza looked on in shock. "No! But how did she….?!?!" Unfortunately she didn't give him anymore time to ponder this as she latched her string to the top of a tall light post and launched herself into the sky. She then got all of her strings ready for her attack, inspired by her captain. "Peacock Spider………STORM!!" And just like her captain did against Crocodile, she fired her strings at Kohza in rapid succession.

Kohza looked on in shock as the onslaught of strings came at him. All he could do was cover up as the strings came at him, piercing his skin lightly on various parts of his body.

Vivi didn't let up. In fact the moment the first string connected she upped the power, letting out a vicious war cry, almost making it seem like she had hundreds of strings instead of just eight.

Once she was sure that she had done enough damage she stopped it and landed on the ground, panting like she had just run a marathon. Kohza was standing there, his body nearly covered with puncture wounds and scratches. Soon he lost the energy to stand and fell to his knees.

Vivi stood up straight and stared directly into his eyes, which were still staring defiantly back at hers. "And now to end it." She set up one of her strings.

Kohza coughed up a little blood and then spoke. "Can you do it though? Now that I can't defend myself, now that you have me in the best possible position, can you really go through with it?"

"I told you at the beginning that I was going to kill you, and that is what I am going to do." At this she had heard a few confused gasps from her crew. 'That's right they don't know.' She didn't want to explain it just yet. 'I'll wait until afterwards. They'll understand.' She steeled herself once again and attacked. "Peacock String Bul….." A hand appeared out of nowhere and held on to her arm before she could shoot out her string. She looked at the hand, and saw that she had one extra arm.

Steaming she turned back and looked straight into the eyes of the ships archaeologist. "Robin! Why did you stop me? I though you agreed to let me handle this on my own!"

Robin looked up at her, completely unfazed by her angry outburst. "This was an order from sencho-san."

Vivi was in near shock. She slowly turned to the stern look of her captain. "L-Luffy, why?" Her voice broke a couple of times when she spoke.

"Why do you want to kill him, Vivi?"

"He threatened to kill my father, and tried to kill all of you. He doesn't deserve to live. So please let me finish this."

"The battle is finished right? You beat him. You already did what we agreed to."

At this Robin spoke up. "Besides, princess-san, if you kill him, wouldn't that make you worse that he is? If you kill him even though he didn't kill anyone, then who is really the monster here?"

At this Vivi's eyes cleared up, the fire that burned inside of them leaving so fast it almost seemed as if they were never there. She was fighting for revenge, but for what? He didn't actually kill anyone, yet here she was, ready to kill him over something he didn't do.

Her arms hung at her side, her strings retracted into her sleeves, and her hair hung over her face. "Leave, Kohza, and never bother me, this crew, or my father again." She began to walk back towards the ship to rejoin her crew.

Kohza, however, had other plans. "Straw hat, you think I will let you escape with showing mercy towards me? Well you have another thing coming." Mizu…." Water rose from the sea and formed into its drill shape. And it was behind Luffy. Vivi just barely saw this. "No!" She turned and fired her string at Kohza.

Dri….." The attack would never initiate as her string would pierce his chest, his heart, coming out of his back. They both stood there, frozen in time. The crew looked on with awed expressions on their faces. Vivi had finally realized what she had done and quickly retracted her string. Kohza stood there for a good 10 seconds before finally falling on his face.

Vivi looked on in horror. "No. K-Kohza. No. No, no, no." She had dropped to her hands and knees, her eyes beginning to well up with tears. "I killed him. I killed him."

The crew looked on, not daring to guess how she was feeling right now. Robin was the first one to move, heading to the side of the fallen princess. "Come on, princess-san; let's get you back to the ship." She gently lifted her to her feet and led her to the ship.

"Oi everyone, if you still need to get something from here go get it. We set sail as soon as we are ready." Luffy lowered his hat over his face to cover his eyes and walked back to the ship slowly. "But Luffy, there's no one here, so we can't by anything." Luffy kept on walking as he spoke. "Then just take it."

The crew was somewhat surprised by their captain's attitude but did not question it.

However, there was one last loose end that no one thought would come up again. "Spring Snipe!" Bellamy came flying out from the building that Vivi had knocked him through, and was aiming for Luffy. "Straw hat, you won't be getting off that easily!"

Unfortunately for Bellamy, he would. "Oni……………..Giri!" From God knows where, Zoro came, slashing at Bellamy with his swords. Bellamy skidded to a stop right in front of Luffy.

"Ah, don't tell me that I missed everything." Zoro stood up straight and saw that the crew was just about to separate once again.

"Yeah, you did. Where the hell were you, sword boy?" The cook spoke from behind him.

"Looking for the ship, but no matter where I went I always ended up back at the same stupid cliff."

"Baka, I swear, you have no sense of direction whatsoever." Nami said from the ship.

While Nami told Zoro about what happened, Sanji, Usopp, And Chopper went to retrieve what ever provisions that they needed. Robin stayed in the ladies quarters with Vivi, who had begun to cry over everything that had happened. Luffy began prepping the ship for take-off with the help of Zoro, after he was done talking to Nami.

Once the others came back, the ship set sail for the next island. Vivi never left the room and either Robin or Nami were in there to at least try to comfort her. Sanji offered anything he could to her, even the massage that he promised her. That got him a boot to the face by Nami. Zoro slept, Usopp got back to work of Nami's weapon, and Chopper went around mending everyone's injuries.

Luffy was on his favorite seat, his big stupid grin back on his face. Apparently whatever was bothering him before had all but vanished. He stayed there until the night time, only to be told that he had night watch this evening, so he retook his position on his seat.

He was looking up at the night sky, seemingly admiring the stars when he heard footsteps behind him. When he turned around, he saw the blue-haired princess standing there. "Um, Luffy? Do you mind if I stay with you tonight?"

Ok. That. Was. Tiring. Hopefully it will be worth it. R&R&have a nice day.


	29. Vivi's Wish

Moving right along, it's time to slow things down just a little bit.

Just by looking at her, one could tell that her last fight had left her in a bad way, though not in the way that one would expect. Physically, she wasn't looking all that bad. Her wounds had healed up nicely, with just a little help from the ships doctor. Her fingers had a few red marks on them from the strain that she had put on the use of her strings, but it was nothing serious. All in all, she was still the picture of near perfect health.

But when you looked in to her eyes, you saw something completely different. Her eyes were bloodshot, so she had indeed been crying for a long time. There was a sort of far away look in her eyes, even though she was looking straight at Luffy, almost as if she weren't really focusing on him. And if you were to look deeper into them, you could see past the gentle disposition that she was attempting to hold up, and see the hurt that stung at her heart. But what hurt her most wasn't the betrayal of her former friend, or the fact that he had attempted to kill everyone she had ever cared about. What hurt the most for her was the fact that she had actually ended someone's life.

Luffy saw none of this. All he saw was his nakama asking him if she could stay with him. "Sure, Vivi, no problem."

Vivi let out a small, extremely forced smile before walking up to the head piece and leaning against the railing of the ship.

For the longest moment they were silent. Neither speaking, nor moving.

"Luffy, I…." Vivi began.

"So, how are you feeling?" She was caught off guard by Luffy's interjection.

"I, I guess a little better now." She searched her mind for whatever it was she wanted to say. "I... are you angry with me?"

Luffy turned back to her with a slightly confused look on his face. "Huh? Why would I be angry with you? You haven't done anything wrong, have you?"

Vivi forced herself to look at him. "Well, Nami told me about how you haven't ever killed any of your enemies, no matter what evil things they committed. You have been so silent since we left the island." At this she paused for a second. "Kohza, he had told me about how he had threatened my father with his life if he tried to stop him. He threatened to kill you and him if I didn't go back with him. Something inside of me snapped at that. I didn't care about anything else but ending his life right then and there."

Luffy had turned his body around so that he was now fully facing her. Even though he still held his completely blank stare on her, he was listening intently to what she was saying.

"I had never killed anyone before. Sure, I may have raised a weapon against someone, but I never went into battle expecting to end another human beings life. However, Kohza's actions had made me believe he was something other than human. And yet, when you stopped me, when you opened my eyes to what I was going to do, I became scared. Scared of what I was going to become if I had indeed killed him when he didn't kill anyone. I was able to stop myself then, but…." Her voice failed her then as the tears started to come up again.

"You killed him to protect me right? If you hadn't done that, then he would have sent that drill straight through my body, and I wouldn't be standing here right now."

She looked up at him, tears starting to stream down her face. "But I still killed him! I killed him! I didn't even want to kill him! I just wanted to stop him, keep him from killing you! I didn't want to kill him then!" She said quietly but sharply.

Luffy hopped off of his spot and stood in front of her. She was on the verge of yet another outburst when he slapped her across the face.

She froze, her head still turned to the side. "Oi, what's the matter with you? You're starting to go back to the old selfish Vivi! You can't have everything! Right then either I was gonna die, or he was gonna die! That's just the way it is!"

Vivi slowly turned her head back to him until her eyes locked with his. "Why? Why must someone important to me always die so someone else can live? Why can't everyone simply live together peacefully? Why can't….." She was stopped once again, this time by Luffy gently placing a finger on her lips.

"Why do you always want to know 'why'? Why can't you just let it be and live on?"

She stared at him for a good minute and, in spite of herself, giggled a little.

"What? What's so funny? I'm trying to be3 serious here." Luffy was more than a little lost.

"That's just it. You look really cute when you talk all serious like that." She said between giggles.

He cocked his head to the side and smiled. "Yea, I guess I do, huh?"

They laughed for a little while before finally turning back to the front of the ship and staring over the sea.

"Say Luffy, what did you guys do after you left Alabasta?"

"Oh nothing much. Just went to an island in the sky, met a bunch of people, kicked the ass of a guy who thought he was God, found a lot of gold, came back down, landed in a Marine base, escaped, and then met back up with you."

Vivi just stared. "Nothing much? Luffy, you guys have had quite the adventure while I was in Alabasta."

Luffy smile his big, toothy, ear-to-ear smile. She loved that smile.

She turned back out to the sea and looked up at the stars. There wasn't a cloud in the sky this night, so the stars seemed to all come out and twinkle in the night's sky. "Beautiful." There was no other word she could use to describe it.

Then she caught it. Out of no where a small streak appeared in the sky. A shooting star. Immediately closing her eyes she made a wish on it.

Luffy watched her with a slight hint of confusion. "Oi, what are you doing, Vivi?"

She opened her eyes and turned to Luffy. "I'm making a wish. If you see a shooting star in the sky, you make a wish on it, and as long as you don't tell anyone what it is, it will come true."

"I see." He looked up at the sky. "Well, I don't need any shooting star to make my wish come true. I am going to be the pirate king, and no one's gonna stop me."

Vivi smiled again. "And me and the rest of the crew will be with you until you make it there."

A funny thing happened then. Out of no where, Luffy reached over and grabbed her hand. It was so sudden and so unexpected that she actually jumped, slightly scared. "True, but I want you to stay with me, even after that. Will you do that for me Vivi?" He turned towards her, his face no locked in a soft stare on her.

Vivi blushed slightly. This was something she hadn't been expecting, yet it was something she had been wanting forever. "Yes, Luffy. I will."

Luffy smiled, then following her example, leaned in to kiss her cheek. Vivi stopped him momentarily, and then redirected his lips so that they met hers. Both of them closed their eyes and let themselves get lost in the moment. Vivi had pulled him in closer so that she could wrap her arms around his neck, and trembled slightly when she felt his arms around her waist. She was surprised by how gentle he was with her, but continued the kiss, not wanting it to ever end.

Over on the side, a feminine eye and ear rested smugly on the railing. Back in the ladies quarters, Robin was sitting up in her bed and smiled. "I told you, princess-san. Sencho-san always has the right answers." Lying down, she blew out her lamp, made her two appendages disappear, and went to sleep.

Ok, there it is. Be happy everyone who wanted to see it. And keep biting those fingernails because I plan on doing more.

Ok a few things.

The next arc is the Water-7 arc. Now, I know this might make some people a little bit angry, but I am going to skip over the Davy Back Arc.

I won't be jumping directly into it. I will try to have them do a couple of more things before I decide to start it up.

Depending upon how long it takes me to get there, I may have to suspend progress on this story until I refresh myself with the beginning of the Water-7 Arc. There are a few key points during the arc that I need to look up on.

Ok, people you know the drill. R&R&have a nice day.


	30. An Unintentional Challange

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack. And I bring the next chapter of my story with me.

Ready, Steady, Go!!!

The name of the island literally translated to Mountain Island, and for good reason. With the exception of the perimeter of the island, which consisted of a sandy beach and about a kilometer of forest, the entire island was basically a giant mountain that rose seemingly past the clouds. It was a strange sight to behold indeed, but as this was the Grand Line, quite possibly the strangest sea in the world, it wasn't all that strange to the ones who braved its ever changing waters. This island in particular was once revered as a perfect rest and relaxation stop to those who had made it this far on this sea.

However, today the base of this mountain would be used as an ideal battle ground.

"Peacock String Slam!" The blue haired princess turned pirate brought her string down hard on her opponent, causing a cloud of dust to rise from the impact. She let out a slightly cocky but supremely confident smile, however it quickly faded when the dust settled, and her opponent was nowhere to be seen. She retracted her string and scanned her surroundings quickly. "Where did you go this time? Where are you going to attack from now?"

"Gomu Gomu No….." She turned towards the direction of the voice, and saw her attacker set up his attack in the last place she expected it to come from; above her. "Ono! (Axe)" Luffy brought his leg down hard, aiming his foot straight for her. "Peacock String Snake!" Thinking quickly she shot her string straight at his foot. Then, with a small twitch of her hand, she caused the string to coil and wrap itself along the length of Luffy's stretched out leg. Vivi then pulled down hard, causing Luffy to drop like a rock.

Luffy, however, recovered quickly, using his free leg and arms to stop himself from slamming into the ground. Then never skipping a beat, stood up and shot the leg that was still wrapped up straight back, causing Vivi to get thrown straight towards him. He then seamlessly transitioned to the attack. "Gomu Gomu No……" Vivi already knew what was coming. She also knew that if she was going to escape from this, she was going to have to act fast and pray that she was still as lucky as everyone said she was. She shot her string straight backwards and hoped that this worked in time.

"Stamp!" Luffy shot his foot forward and aimed straight for Vivi's face. Vivi felt her string dig into a large bolder and was momentarily relieved. With barely a second to spare, she pulled back hard on the string, and with her body moving forward as it was, caused her upper body to bend backwards, letting Luffy's sandaled foot to pass just millimeters above her face. Another slight hand movement and the string unwrapped itself from Luffy's leg. She then rolled to the side, pulling her second string back to her, stood up and stared her opponent in the eye.

'Nami-san was right. He may act foolish most of the time, but put him in a tough fight and he turns into a genius. He used my own string to pull me towards him, and then attempted to kick me while I was flying to him. It was pure luck that I was able to dodge it. Half a second later and… well, I don't even want to think about how that would feel.' She refocused her attention on to Luffy and prepared her next attack.

Luffy, believe or not, actually had similar thoughts going through her mind. 'I knew that she had gotten way tougher since we left Alabasta, but man, even I'm having a tough time against her.' Of course if he had been fighting her seriously, like he had against Crocodile, he no doubt would have had an easier time against her. However, he was completely oblivious of his restraint towards her. Vivi, on the other hand, was completely aware that the only reason that she wasn't face down on the ground right now was that Luffy didn't really see her as an enemy. She couldn't blame him, though. She understood that even if it was training, and even if she had asked him to come at her with everything that he had, it was impossible for the captain to ever hurt any of his crew.

She was just about to attack again when another familiar voice reached her ears. "Luffy, Vivi, lunch is ready!" It was the voice of the ship's doctor, Chopper. He appeared near the tree line exhausted. He had run all the way from the ship.

Vivi turned back to her ship's captain and training partner, expecting him to want to head straight back to the ship. The words that escaped his lips made her check to see if her ears were still attached to her head correctly. "Hey Vivi, you wanna go back, or do you wanna continue training?"

"What? You don't wanna go?"

"Well, yea I do. But if you want to continue training, then it isn't really that important."

Before she knew it, Luffy was flying straight into a large boulder. Right where Luffy was standing was a shiny black boot, and connected to that boot was the extremely well built leg of the ships cook. "You miserable little shit! How dare you call my cooking unimportant! I should make you starve from now on for that!" he yelled at Luffy while still holding the pose he was in when he kicked Luffy.

Vivi was still standing off to the side and sweat dropped when Sanji finished speaking. "Unbelievable. He heard Luffy all the way from the ship."

Luffy sat up from the pile of rock that he was buried under and rubbed his head. "Sanji, that wasn't what I meant. You know that I always love your cooking. I meant that Vivi's training was more important than me eating your food right now." That promptly got him yet another shiny black boot to the face.

"Oi, you had better watch what you say about my cooking from now on, asshole."

"Um, Sanji-kun, could you please just bring our lunches out here? And please make sure to bring extra for Luffy. The way things have been going so far, his stomach is probably going to be like a black hole." Vivi said, hoping that she could keep Sanji from beating her training partner up too badly.

And as to be expected from the slightly perverted cook, he turned to Vivi with hears gushing out of everywhere that they could. "Hai, Vivi-chwaaaaan." And leaving a trail of hearts in his wake, he dashed back through the forest to the ship, with Chopper close behind.

Vivi giggled a little, and then turned back towards Luffy. She smiled at him, still somewhat surprised that Luffy was willing to give up lunch for her. But then again, when she thought about it, it shouldn't have been all that surprising when she considered everything that had happened ever since that night.

She had stayed with him the entire night after they had kissed. He had perched himself back on his seat, and had pulled her up with him so that she was sitting in his lap. He kept his arms wrapped protectively around her while they sat and looked out over the sea. After a while they had fallen asleep. She woke up a little early the next morning, and silently slipped out of Luffy's grasp to avoid the rest of the crew for finding them like that.

Ever since then he had acted different whenever he was around her. Examples of this included every meal when he would just randomly grab whatever food was on the table, even if it was on someone else's plate. He would always deliberately miss her plate. He even offered to let her sit in his special seat, and according to Nami, that didn't happen.

So this was just another small piece of him letting her know just how much she meant to him. "Ok, Luffy, ready to start up again?" She raised her strings and prepared for battle.

Luffy had finally emerged from the second pile of rubble and was shaking off his arm. "Yea, let's get back to work. Gomu Gomu No……"

"Peacock String………"

"Pistol!"

"Slasher!"

The Going Merry)))

Sanji had just jumped back on the ship and was walking to the kitchen, getting ready to prepare another 20 plates of food.

"Oi, Sanji-kun, where's Vivi and Luffy?" Nami looked up from her lounge chair on the bow of the ship. She was sunbathing in her green bikini. This obviously got a reaction out of Sanji.

"They are still out training, my beautiful megami (goddess)."

"Nani???!!!" She nearly jumped right out of her seat. "Luffy actually denied food? What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know, but I hope Vivi-chwan kicks that ungrateful little shit's ass."

Nami sighed deeply. It was obviously that Sanji couldn't believe that Luffy didn't want to eat either; however he was in so much denial that he made up a reason for Luffy not to eat his food. Though, she couldn't really blame him. She was still having a hard time believing this as well.

Sanji took a quick look around. "Did everyone already finish eating?"

"Yeah. Chopper was tired out from all the running around that he was doing so he has already passed out in the boy's room. I made Usopp get back to work on my weapon, Zoro has already gone off to start his own training, and Robin is in our room getting ready to head out. She saw a bunch of old structures from the crow's nest and well you know how she gets when she sees a bunch of ruins."

"Ok well I'm going to deliver Vivi and that asshole's food and then start looking around the island for a few good cooking ingredients, so you and Chopper will be alone on the ship."

"Ok then Sanji-kun. Have fun and hurry back. I might get lonely here," she added in her most innocent voice, getting the desired response from Sanji.

"Hai, megami-swaaaaaan!" And he ran to the kitchen and ran out with about twenty plates balanced perfectly. Nami just shook her head. "Ah, I love how easy it is to get men to do what you want."

Later that day, at a ruined city)))

Robin walked through the giant stone threshold, obviously the entrance to the city, and looked in complete indifference at the decrepit stone city. It was nowhere near as impressive as most of the other ruins that she had seen. In fact, compared to those, this was by far the most primitive set of ruins that she had ever seen. She looked at the stone buildings that made up the city in mild disappointment. No hieroglyphics, no markings, nothing. There were absolutely no carvings on any of the stones.

She began to search through the entire city, looking through each and every building that made up this completely empty city. By empty, she didn't mean the lack of humans. In just about every other set of ruins she could almost feel the history radiating out of them. It was almost as if the ruins had a life of their own. However, these were just as cold and desolate as they looked. Each house, each building, everything had nothing to be found, nothing to be discovered With each building that she passed, her disappointment only grew and grew, and after a while this disappointment turned into anger.

She walked up to the tallest building, deeming it to be the one where this village's leader lived, worked, or both, and was disappointed to find that the only real difference between this building and the others was the size of it. This was the last straw for her. She kicked the giant building once then began to walk away, fuming. After a few steps, there was a small rumble. She turned to the direction of the rumble, which oddly enough was coming from the large building that she had just left. It rumbled for a few more seconds before finally collapsing in on itself.

Something strange happened to Robin then. Usually when some ruins would fall like this, she would grow remorseful, or angry if someone had caused it. So she should have become at least angry with herself for what she had done. However, the complete lack of information that this particular set of ruins held had made her so angry the sight of the building falling actually caused a smile to creep across her face.

Willing to push this new found development further, she crossed her arms. "Cien Fleur." One hundred legs suddenly sprouted from the ground in front of every single stone building. "Kick." All at once, her legs kicked each stone building. She then dispersed her legs, walked to the center of the ruins, and waited.

The rumble returned, this time even bigger than the last, and from all directions. She watched with mild amusement as the entire set of ruins started to fall in on itself. One by one, each of the buildings fell, leaving nothing but a pile of rocks where the buildings once stood. As each building fell robin felt her anger disappear more and more and more, until finally, with the last building falling, there was nothing but absolute bliss within her. Though the simple smirk on her face was all that she would show.

She began to walk towards the exit of the ruined city, thinking to herself, 'Well, at the very least no one else will have to go on the fruitless journey of going through these ruins. As she walked through the giant threshold, promptly remembering to knock it down as she left, she looked up to see Vivi and Luffy looking at her, both with stunned looks on their faces. "Hello sencho-san, hime-san."

Vivi was the one who spoke first. "Um, Robin, you know that those ruins are destroyed right."

"Of course I do. I'm the one who did it." She didn't have even a tinge of regret in her voice.

It was Luffy's turn. "Nani??!! But why? You always talk about how important they are and everything and then you turn around and destroy one yourself." He pointed an accusing finger at the archaeologist. "You are a hippo."

Vivi sweat dropped. "I think he meant hypocrite."

He kept his finger pointed at Robin. "That's what I said; a hippo."

Robin was barely able to hide her real laughter behind her giggle. She then collected herself, and then explained her. "I do not care about the ruins themselves. I care for the history that is contained within them." She raised her hand at the fallen ruins. "These ruins held no history to be discovered; therefore their fate mattered not to me."

Luffy looked at her with his blank stare. Then suddenly he cried out, "Hippo!"

Vivi proceeded to burst into laughing while the archaeologist merely giggled. Then Vivi collected herself and addressed the archaeologist. "Oh, I almost forgot. Nami-san was looking for you. She said she had something that she wanted to ask you, but she wouldn't tell me what."

"Ok, I am on my way back to the ship, anyway. How was your training session with sencho-san, by the way?"

"Oh, it was great. Now I know why so many other pirates fell to him. He is a really strong fighter."

"You are actually a very good fighter yourself Vivi. I bet you could probably beat Zoro with that Spider thing you have."

Vivi blushed slightly at his compliment, and the archaeologist caught it. She was still the only crew member who knew about the relationship between the captain and the princess, and she had been tempted numerous times to expose it. However, up to now she had kept it a well guarded secret. However, that didn't mean that she couldn't torture them a little. "My, my, the way you two talk to each other, one would think that you two were a couple." She said the last part of that silently and raised her pinky finger slightly, and then she started walking back to the ship, while Vivi stared at the woman, wondering just what she knew, and how much of it she knew.

"Oi, that doesn't change anything, Robin! You are still a hippo!"

Vivi was about to turn to Luffy and correct him once again, even though she knew that she would be basically wasting her breath, but was cut off when she saw that Luffy was no longer standing there. Instead, once again, there was a shiny black boot connected to the cook's leg once again. "Oi, you had better watch what you say about my sweet Robin-chwan."

Vivi sweat dropped just like last time. 'How does he do it?' She turned back to see where her captain landed. Unfortunately, her captain was no where to be seen, with the exception of his straw hat which was floating slowly down from the sky.

'So Luffy gets angry when you badmouth his dreams or his crew, Sanji does so when you talk about his cooking or the women. I wonder what makes the others lose their tempers?" she pondered, hoping that she wouldn't have to find out first hand.

Nearby)))

To say that Zoro was just a little put off by what he had just heard would be a bit of an understatement. He had just finished his latest training session and was heading out to look for another good spot to continue. He felt a slight rumble while he was walking and went to investigate it.

He came up on a set of bushes and saw that just beyond them were three figures. Upon closer inspection he saw that they were Vivi, Luffy, and Robin. Behind Robin were a set of ruins that had apparently fallen, which explained the rumble that he felt. The thing that confused him the most was that Robin had a very content look on her face, even though on of her precious ruins appeared to have recently fallen, probably while she was there.

He was about to ask her about this when something that Luffy said caught his ear. "I bet you could probably beat Zoro with that Spider thing you have." Zoro froze and stared at Luffy, and found that he was looking at Vivi. He really thought that she could beat him?

Normally this wouldn't have meant much to him. After all he was confident enough in his own skills to know whether or not she could beat him. However, he had not actually been there to see her battle, so he wasn't sure just what the woman was capable of. Besides that, ever since his battle with Krieg, every training session he had left him feeling like he hadn't really improved his own skills. Some even left him feeling like he was getting worse.

So Luffy's words, harmless as they were, were more of a challenge to him than anything else. "So, you think that the princess actually stands a chance against me?" He placed a hand on the Wado and smiled. "We'll see."

Ok a couple of notes that I would like to make.

Damn it feels good to be back. I have been away for far too long. For those of you who wish to know, I am currently deployed to Iraq right now. Needless to say, internet time out here is precious. That and for a while I had hit a writers wall. You have heard of writers block, well this is a writer's wall. I didn't even have a decent idea as to what I wanted my next chapter to be about. Then, all of the sudden it hit me. This was the end result.

No, Zoro is not turning evil.

I am going to try to keep this wave of inspiration going so keep an eye on my story and I'll update this as soon as I can. Till then, R&R& have a nice day.


	31. Zoro vs Vivi

Ok, next chapter up.

In the back of her mind, Vivi scolded herself for allowing Zoro to coax her into this situation. After all, what business was it of hers if some overly macho green haired swordsman felt like his ego had taken a few shots because of something that their Captain had said, obviously unaware that his words reached the ears of more people than he thought present at the time?

And yet, in that same train of thought, her logical mind said that Luffy was the one who had put her and Zoro in the same sentence in the first place. And as much as she wanted to place the blame of her current situation on her rubber captain though, she knew that it would be impossible. After all, how could she blame him for believing in her abilities?

Besides, she figured that this was going to happen sooner or later. Be it verbal or physical, Zoro was the only member of the crew to have gotten in to some sort of fight with every other member of the crew. His infinite, infamous bouts with the ships cook were well documented in her mind. She actually wondered just how the two survived the beatings that they dished out onto each other. Yet, they constantly seem to be able to work like a well oiled machine when given a common enemy. Then there was that one spot where everyone but she and Robin lost their memories. She didn't stick around to witness the fight between the two, but from what she had seen beforehand, she was sure that Luffy and Zoro's fight was not one for the faint of heart. Let's not even talk about his numerous verbal squabbles with Nami. As uncoordinated as he was, she thought that he would have known by now the there is no arguing with a woman. Usopp and Chopper were both basically simple cases. They did something to piss him off, he would chase them spewing out threats of blood and gore, and they would run like their lives depended on it. Wait, let me rephrase that. They would run because their lives depended on it.

The only exception to this rule was the ship's archaeologist, Robin, but considering the detached nature of the woman, it was no surprise that, with the exception of her "initiation" into the crew, she had yet to spark the ire of any of her other crewmates. In fact, according to Luffy at least, she was the breath of fresh air that this crew needed every now and then. Maybe she should- Wait! Stop! Straying too far from the point.

Anyway, she knew that it would only be a matter of time before some sort of disagreement came between the two of them, though she didn't count the time they fought in Whiskey Peak. Mainly for three reasons. 1. She hadn't been a part of the crew then. 2. It's was a 104 on one situation, though it still blew her mind that the man was able to beat all of them buy himself. More amazing that he was seemingly testing out his two newest swords, meaning that he hadn't even been truly concentrating when he beat them. This brings her to her third point. The fact that he hadn't even been taking her seriously during their little scuffle. Though, looking back on it now, he had every reason not to. If she was him and she was facing someone who fought by taking out two bottles of perfume and began belly dancing in an attempt to immobilize their opponent, she would believe this to be a joke as well.

And so her she was, standing in a small clearing, waiting for her opponent to show up. Considering that he was the one that made the challenge, it was awfully rude of him to not be early. Then again, calling Zoro rude is like calling Luffy's stomach a bottomless pit. In other words, a blatantly obvious fact. This was only emphasized by the actual challenge itself.

-The Going Merry, one day ago-

Luffy and Vivi had just returned from yet another hard, strenuous day of training. Vivi looked like she had seen much, much better days, though the smile that she held on her face could have told you otherwise. She had rips and tears all over her clothes, though nothing provocative showed so she knew that she would be at least a little safe from the perverted cook. Though she knew that she was going to be bombarded by the fuzzy doctor when he say the numerous cuts, bruises, abrasions, and a plethora of other minor injuries that riddled her body.

Luffy, on the other hand, looked completely fine, looking close to how he looked when he and Vivi left that morning. The ship's doctor and navigator where the first ones to see the duo and while Chopper immediately began to patch up Vivi, Nami turned her attention to the Captain. "Baka, what did you do to Vivi??!!"

"Trained with her, what do you think Nami?" Luffy said, completely ignoring her anger.

Nami did not let her anger die. "Then why does she look like that? What kind of training leaves her looking like she just got finished fighting with Zoro, and you looking like you haven't even thrown a punch??!!"

Vivi spoke up at this. "Defensive and endurance training, Nami-san. That's why he doesn't have any injuries. Basically, he attacked, and I blocked or parried as best as I could. And If I couldn't I took the hit, got back up, and kept on going. Simple as that."

"But what about the scratches?" Her anger had left her when Vivi started talking.

"These are from when Luffy used my strings against me. You were right Nami-san. He is an absolute fighting genius."

She sighed. "Yea, too bad his brain only has two trains of thought. Either put his foot up someone's ass, or food down his throat."

Vivi smiled sweetly at this, while Luffy fumed. "Oi, that's not true Nami! I don't really think that eating food is all that important! Baka!"

Vivi had learned at a young age that people mainly lived off of the concept of trial and error. Do something, see what happens. If the result was bad, you didn't do it anymore. However, it would seem that her captain had not adopted that little lesson of life. Pity, she would have thought that he had learned from his past two, no three mistakes to watch what he said. Because once again he was sent flying off into the distance, and right where he was once standing was, yet again, the shiny black boot of the ship's perverted cook, Sanji.

Usopp, who was sitting in the crow's nest at the time, saw an object leave the ship at a very high speed, and began to wonder if someone had fired one of the cannons. Though, one look through his goggles, and a glance down at the deck, and he realized just what happened. "Geez, Luffy, when are you going to learn?"

Chopper, Vivi, and Nami had dazed looks on their faces. Just two seconds ago, they had been looking right at the Captain of their ship. And within the blink of an eye, quite literally as all of the blinked at the same time, he had been replaced by a black boot. The owner of said boot was looking straight at both female members of the crew, as always with hearts gushing out of everywhere that they could. "Vivi-chwaaaaan, Nami-swaaaaaan, don't worry. I will protect your perfect ears from the insults of that idiotic bastard."

Nami cheered him on, whilst Vivi simply sweat dropped. 'Where the hell did he come from? I didn't hear him in the kitchen, and I didn't hear any doors opening.' Once again, Sanji had left her at a loss for words.

"Oi, hime." She was snapped out of her reverie by the voice of the ship's swordsman, Zoro. He was standing on the railing, sending what seemed to be a glare her way.

'Why is he looking at me like that? I don't think that I have done anything to him.' "Yes, Mr. Bushido, how may I help you?"

"Word in the forest is that you might be a better fighter than I."

She immediately remembered Luffy's words from two days ago. "So you were there. Well yes, Luffy seems convinced, but I doubt that I could beat you if you took me seriously."

"That's what I want to find out. You and me, one on one. No kiddy gloves."

Her eyes widened just a little. "Sorry, but no. I will be training with Luffy tomorrow so I don't think that I will have time to fight you. Besides, I don't have a reason."

"Too bad. I do. Now fight me."

She closed her eyes and turned around. Her better half was dominating her brain right now. 'Good girl. Just walk away. Occupy yourself now. Let's try to find Luffy now, before it gets too dark."

Zoro wouldn't have any of it. "So is the hime gonna run scared now?" He never really went this far just to pick a fight, especially with a crew member, but under the circumstances, he was willing to go to any lengths to get his way.

Of course the cook took exception to this. "Oi, sword boy, it you really want to fight, then fight me. Don't go picking fights with women."

"Shut your mouth blondie. Captain said that she might be better than me and I just want to prove him wrong. Though, I don't think I'll have to if the hime is gonna act all spoiled and pampered like this."

Two things happened then. 1. A twig in side of Vivi's mind formed, representing whatever rational thought was left within her. 2. And this was something that hadn't happen to Vivi in a long time. A vein popped up on her forehead.

"What did you say you bastard?" The cook had now gotten into Zoro's face.

"You heard me. She is nothing but a spoiled brat who has probably had everything handed to her on a silver platter."

Two veins. The twig started to bend.

"Probably was even fed all her meals with the same silver spoon that she had in her mouth when she was born."

Three veins. The twig bent a little more.

"Who knows? Oh I know. The servants that waited at her every beck and call."

Four veins. Small audible cracks could be heard from said twig.

"Stronger than me? Yeah right. I'll bet it was our noble captain than kicked Kohza's ass all over town, not little Miss Hime over here pretending to play pirate."

_SNAP_. That did it.

She turned slowly, her head hanging low, her bangs covering her eyes. "Oi, Zoro."

Everyone present looked up. Each had a surprised look on their faces. Zoro, because it was the first time ever, _ever_, that the hime had spoken his name. Ever.

Sanji, Nami, and Chopper, however, were surprised at the tone the girls voice took. They had only heard this voice once before, and had been hoping that she would never have to use that voice again. That cocky yet remorseless voice. Because that voice was a voice with the intent to kill whoever was opposite of her.

She finally looked up. Her eyes had changed from their regular softness, now filled with a fire that could set the entire mountain on fire. Everyone flinched back, but Zoro held his ground. "So, I take it I have your attention."

She held up a finger and pointed towards the island. "One kilometer that way, there is a clearing. 10am tomorrow. You will get your fight."

Zoro smiled. "You better come prepared." And with that he walked down to the men's bedroom.

Vivi watched him leave, and her anger slowly began to die down, however it would not completely leave her. Not even when the Captain, still a little loopy from his impromptu flight, climbed up on deck and yelled at the top of his lungs, "Oi, Sanji, what the fuck was that for?"

-Present Time-

Looking back, she still couldn't figure out just what happened there. Normally, when people snap like she had, they tend to black out, not even realizing anything that they did during that time. However, she not only had full control of her body and decisions, but she actually wanted to fight him. She remembered being like this during her fight with Kohza, but she never really thought about it because of what she did to him.

'I'll have to worry about that a little later, for right now I have to kick the living tar out of Zoro.'

The rest of the crew had joined in as well, mere bystanders to the destruction that was to come. Nami, the money loving devil that she was, started a betting pool between her and the others and each person immediately chose their sides.

Nami's choice, however, was the most surprising. "She may have gotten better, but I doubt that Zoro will take it easy on her, so I'm going with Zoro."

Robin was next, though it still amazed everyone that she had decided to come and watch the fight. "On the contrary, navigator-san, I believe that hime-san has improved far beyond our expectations of her. Plus she is far smarter than swordsman-san. I believe I will bet on hime-san."

Sanji, of course, was torn. On the one hand, there was both Vivi and Robin on one side of coin, but on the other hand, his sweet Nami san was there. However the deciding factor would be the fact that if he did go with Nami, he would be cheering for Zoro. So, "I vote for Vivi-chwaaaaan!"

Both Chopper and Usopp had the same thoughts going through their minds. Evident by the fact that they both said at the same time, "I put my money on Zoro." More evident by the fact that in the back of their minds, they both thought, 'Cause if I don't, he will kill me.'

And lastly, and obviously, the ship's captain took the side everyone knew he would. "Go, Vivi. Kick Zoro's ass."

Vivi grinned slightly, but it faded when the swordsman finally came into view. He walked into the middle of the clearing not saying a word to any of the bystanders.

There they stood. Vivi and Zoro.

"So, is the hime ready to have her ass spanked?"

"Before we start, why?"

"Simple. When it comes to fighting, the captain is always right. Whether I like it or not, he is always spot on. And for a while I was able to accept what he said. However, when he said that you might be able to beat me, I just had to make sure of it for myself. Now prepare yourself, because I won't be holding back." And with that, he drew the Kitetsu and the Yubashiri, leaving the Wado sheathed.

Vivi scoffed. "I thought you were going all out. Take out your other sword, put on your stupid bandana, and fight me like you mean it." With that she released her strings, let them start spinning around her pinky fingers, and got set.

"Look who's talking. Where is this 'Spider' thing that you have?"

Vivi nodded. "Very well, then. No tricks, no perfume, no belly dancing. Just swords and strings."

The battle ground grew silent again, save for Vivi's strings. They were waiting for the other to make the first move. It went on like this for a full minute, though it seemed like an hour.

Finally, growing impatient, the first move was made. "Peacock String Slasher!"

Using her standard opening move, she shot one of her strings straight towards the swordsman.

Zoro simply smirked and brought his sword up to deflect it. The string bounced harmlessly to the side. However, he became slightly confused when the hime sent him a cocky grin.

With a slight flick of her wrist, the string suddenly wrapped itself around his sword. He stared in shock at his newly gift wrapped sword.

Grunting, he set up his next sword to cut through her string. Then he realized that he couldn't move his other sword. Annoyed, he looked at his other sword, and saw that it too was wrapped up with her other string.

Vivi let out a slight giggle before proceeding. "And then there was one." Saying this, she jerked her arms to the side, causing both of his swords to wrench themselves from his grip, and lodge themselves deep within a rock, and a tree.

Zoro growled angrily at her. 'Ok so she has gotten better, I'll admit that.' He unsheathed the Wado and prepared for his next attack. "Ittoryu: SanjuuRoku Pondou Hou!" With a mighty swing of his sword, he sent a fierce ki enhanced wind towards the princess.

Vivi immediately dug her strings into the ground and was able to keep herself from being blown away by the wind. Zoro, however, was already on the move, getting in close to the princess. Unfortunately for him, said princess was ready for him. "Peacock String Mole!" Suddenly, the ends of her strings shot up out of the ground. Zoro had barely enough time to stop his charge and escape from being impaled by the strings.

Vivi retracted her strings and charged the swordsman. "Peacock String Barrage!" She let loose a series of nonstop string attacks, treating her strings like they were whips.

Zoro could only dodge each and every attack, knowing full well that if she got the chance, she would relieve him of his final sword. She was also attacking so fast that he couldn't get inside of her attacks even if he wanted to.

However, that didn't mean that he couldn't use her tenaciousness against her. Stepping slightly to the right, then to the left of her attacks, he noted that she was simply following him around with her attacks. He figured that he could use this to his advantage.

He slowly, cautiously, began to dodge his way to the right of the field. Vivi complied, keeping her attacks directed towards him, completely unaware that he was making his was closer and closer to the Yubashiri. Finally, he parried one of her lashes, using the momentum of the parry to turn his body, took hold of the Yubashiri with his free hand, and yanked it out of the tree. Then, not skipping a beat, he transitioned into his next attack. "Nitoryu: Tatsumaki!" He whipped both of his swords around, creating a strong tornado around him. The force of the blow sent Vivi sailing into the air.

Vivi, however, was able to recover just in time to land on her feet back on the ground. She inwardly cringed as she scolded herself for letting Zoro use her own attack against her like that, and outwardly scowled when she saw that Zoro had retrieved the Kitetsu, having done so during her unplanned flight.

Apparently not happy with the way things have been going, Zoro now stood holding the Kitetsu in his left hand, the Yubashiri in his right, the Wado in his mouth, and his bandana on his head. "Let's see you get out of this one, hime." He ran towards her, holding his swords up near his head. Vivi got in her defensive stance, hoping that whatever he came with, her strings would be able to handle it.

"Ushi Bari! (Bull Horns) He then lunged at her, unleashing sword thrusts in fast succession at Vivi. Vivi kept up as best as she could with her strings, actually deflecting the swords with her strings, though she would not be able to block them all. By the end of Zoro's attack, she would wind up with half a dozen scratches on her body.

Zoro smirked at this. "Heh, first blood goes to me."

Vivi smiled at this. "But I will be the one who gets the last laugh." She looked over to the rest of the crew. "They have already made their bests, so what do you say to a little wager?"

"Oh, and what might that be?"

"Loser has to do whatever the winner wants until we reach the next island."

"Deal. You are going to regret those words, hime."

She smirked. 'Ok, disarming him won't work anymore; he'll be looking for that. He probably thinks that my particular weapon means that I can only fight mid to long range. Guess it's time that I prove him wrong.' She stepped back, let her strings hang, and straightened out her hands. Immediately, the strings wrapped their way completely around her hands and forearms. "Peacock String Gauntlets."

The entire crew, Zoro included, was surprised and impressed with this latest attack of Vivi's, though Zoro to a lesser extent. "And just what are those supposed to do, besides making your arms look pretty?" He brought his swords up into an offensive stance.

Vivi was now where near amused. Instead she opted to simply charge the swordsman.

Zoro was initially surprised that she would even think about fighting him up close, but then decided to smirk and let her come to her inevitable defeat.

She let loose her first attack, fighting as if she were wearing a pair of metal, bladed gloves. Zoro brought his sword up to block, and was stunned to see that her first punch was a feint, followed up by a second punch, which just barely missed his face, but left a small scratch on his cheek.

After that, it was on, in a flurry of gloved hands and swords, the clangs could be heard throughout the entire forest. Unfortunately for the princess, she was not as well versed in close combat as she needed to be to take down the swordsman and was knocked back with a stiff kick to the gut. Zoro was already on her for his next attack. "Tora Gari! (Tiger Hunting.)" He brought his two hand held swords down hard on her, which she was just barely able to block with her gauntlets, though she winced at the pain that it caused.

"Give it up hime, you can't beat me." He sneered down at her.

She didn't listen, or at least he thought she didn't, because at that very moment she jumped back up and tried for another lunge. He sighed and in a very fluid movement, dodged her strike. For a while they both just stood there, frozen, silent. Zoro would be the one to break that silence. "Tourou Nagashi."

All of the sudden, Vivi fell to her knees, eyes clenched closed, strings loosely hanging from her fingers, and her hands clutching her stomach, which was now bleeding.

"If you thought that move was a simple dodge, you were wrong. I also slashed at your stomach right in the middle of the evasion, so quickly and smoothly that you never noticed it. This match is over."

The rest of the crew was, for the lack of a better term, shocked. In the back of their minds they knew that this was going to happen, that they were expecting this to happen. And yet, knowing that it will happen, and it actually happening, were two completely different things.

"Oi, Zoro you bastard, what the hell is wrong with you??!! Are you trying to kill my sweet Vivi-chwan??!!" The loudest of these complaints was obviously coming from the ships cook, Sanji. Nami was right behind him. Usopp and Chopper would have complained if it wasn't for the fact that they were supposed to be voting for Zoro, so they simply decided to fume inwardly. Even Robin had a slight hint of worry on her face for Vivi.

Monkey D. Luffy is by no means uncaring. In fact, of his entire crew, he is the only one who cares about each and every crew member equally, with the exception of Vivi. So it completely blew Robin's mind just how confident Luffy looked at that moment. "Sencho-san, are you not worried about the well being of hime-san?"

"No, why would I? Vivi is nowhere near done yet." His grin only grew wider. "In fact, if I were you, I would start praying for Zoro's safety."

Robin's eyes widened slightly. Then her face settled into a slight grin. She knew that face well. No matter what the situation, whenever her captain had that face on, anything and everything he said was going to happen happened.

And according to the fate that Luffy's face had written, Vivi stood up again, her face now steeled into a determined glare, showing no signs of pain, despite the slash that decorated her abdomen.

Zoro turned and sighed lazily. "I don't want to seriously hurt you. I was holding back on that one."

"That…. will be the biggest mistake of your life." Her voice had once again gone cold and emotionless, threatening to kill anyone who thought otherwise. She crossed her arms and looked straight into the eyes of her opponent. "Peacock String Spider!" At once, six more strings shot out to join her other two. They hung down at her side, ready and waiting for the slightest movement of their controller. "I hope you're ready Zoro. Because you won't be fighting the nice, calm, pristine Princess Nefertari Vivi of Alabasta. You won't be fighting Miss Belly dancing, perfume spraying, Wednesday of Baroque Works. You won't even be fighting the angry, vengeful Vivi that made her appearance during her fight with Kohza. No, Zoro, this Vivi is made just for you. She is very determined, slightly offended, and extremely pissed off."

Something in the words of the princess gone pirate caused a nerve within the archaeologist to shiver slightly. She was well aware of the other side of Vivi that had shown herself during her fight with Kohza. However, she had merely passed it off as a simple "heat of the moment" personality change, which given the circumstances was a fairly accurate analysis.

However, after seeing this recent change in demeanor in the normally calm, cool, and collected pirate, she was beginning to wonder about her initial assumption. 'A split personality, maybe? But what brought it about? Certainly not her lack of emotional expression. She has definitely not been shy about speaking whatever was on her mind. Perhaps there is something deeper underneath the mask that hime-san wears.' She decided to look into it on a later, more appropriate date.

Zoro however, simply smiled. "Aw what's the matter? Is the hime gonna throw a hissy fit now?" He said, though he didn't drop his guard.

"No, I'm just gonna throw you!" And with that she lunged at the swordsman, forming her strings in her right hand into one giant string. "Peacock Spider Whip!" She brought it along the side of the swordsman, who was just barely able to block the strike, needing to use all three swords to do so, which of course left him wide open for the second giant string that came to his other side.

However, he was prepared for it and ducked at the last minute, then charged the princess. With a flurry of sword strikes he began to drive the princess back, hoping to back her up against the stone wall behind her.

Vivi would allow him to and just as he was about to launch a finishing blow to her, in the form of a double sword thrust, she jumped up, kicked off of the wall and landed behind him. 'Wasn't expecting that.' Zoro mused to himself.

"Ok then, let's see you try and stand against this one." He got set for one of his more devastating maneuvers. "Santoryu: Hyaku Hachi Pondou Hou!" Swinging all three of his swords, he sent a wave of swirling ki at her, this time ready to seriously harm the girl.

Vivi crossed her hands, and called forth her best defensive move. "Peacock Dome!" Her strings moved instantly, creating a dome around her. The ki attack hit her dome and it shook a little violently, but still protected her nonetheless.

As soon as she retracted her dome, she was on the attack. "Peacock Spider Revolution!" She did a full 360 degree spin, and almost succeeded in catching Zoro with her strings. He jumped backwards just in the nick of time, and then stuck out a sword, letting it get wrapped up just enough so that when he yanked it back towards him, she came flying at him as well.

She was completely unprepared for him to try something like that, and was clearly caught by surprise by his move. Now she was flying towards him, while he set up for his trademark move. "Oni……." Realizing she only had seconds to pull something out of her ass, she remembered her sparing session with Luffy, and shot her string backwards. 'Please be on time!'

Zoro had just started moving forward when she felt the familiar chink of her string digging into something, though she didn't really care what it was. She just simply pulled back hard.

"Giri!" He nearly flew forward towards her, slashing horizontally with all three swords, though they would never touch their target, as Vivi had somehow pulled of an impossible backwards bend to avoid getting three new slashes on her stomach.

Vivi was on the move immediately, shooting a string out towards a slightly confused Zoro, wrapping it around his neck, and wrenching her arm to the side, causing him to get thrown into the thick trunk of a nearby tree. All while she was still in mid air mind you.

She landed and turned. 'Ok I have him in a decent enough position to finish him. But I need some sort of distraction. Something to keep him from attacking me for a little while.' A though occurred to her. 'Just might work.' She brought her hands up and created a very big string by wrapping all of her strings together. "Peacock String Mega Slam!" She brought it down hard on the ground, and it did the job she wanted, creating a thick cloud of dust, concealing her from the view of the swordsman.

Said swordsman was just now shaking the last of the cobwebs out of his head. 'Didn't see that one coming. Crap where'd that brat go?" He looked up to see the dust cloud over the field. "Jeez, now what?" He searched for his target; slightly calm thinking that she would probably have as much trouble finding him as he did finding her.

"Peacock Spider……." He half cringed half jumped at her voice. She was preparing for an attack, which meant that she knew where he was. But that was ok, since he had just located her with her voice. He rushed towards her, intent on finishing her once and for all.

"Oni….."

He set up for his attack again, and finally emerged from the cloud of dust…….

And was met with an interesting sight: The princess in a stance that mirrored his own. Though what came out of her mouth caused his eyebrows to sky rocket.

"Oni……. Giri!"

"Slashing with all eight strings, Vivi did what was quite possibly the best damn copy of Zoro's favorite move ever. Zoro was left practically speechless, though that could be attributed to the eight slashed that currently rested on his chest and abs.

Vivi straightened and retracted her strings, and the swordsman dropped all of his swords and fell face first in the dirt.

The dust finally settled and the crew was met with a sight that they thought they would never see: Vivi standing tall with Zoro on the ground, defeated.

"Vivi-chwaaaaan. You beat that stupid marimo just like I thought you would." As expected of Sanji.

With the exception of Luffy, the rest of the crew was absolutely stunned. Vivi had actually beaten the swordsman. One on one.

Vivi looked down at the swordsman. "So tell me, what do you think of this spoiled pampered princess now?"

The last thing that Vivi remembered hearing clearly was Luffy saying, "See, Robin, what did I tell you?"

Then the adrenaline wore off.

Then her anger dissipated.

Then she was herself again.

Then she felt all of her injuries at one time.

Then the world went blank.

-END-

Ok I just want to make this perfectly clear to anyone and everyone who reads this story. (I'm still amazed that so many people read this story.)

If I do decided to stop updating this story, then I will make it perfectly clear to everyone that I have. Until such an event occurs, keep your eyes and ears open for updates.

On a lighter note, I must say that I am particularly proud of this chapter, not just because it's the longest I have ever written. Because I truly gave my all for this particular fight scene. Kinda wish I had done so for Robin's fight, but that's just the way life works I guess.

Send Reviews. I am perfectly capable of taking criticism, good or bad. Give it to me.

Also, if any of you have any ideas for what you would like to see in future chapters, feel free to send them. I have a lot of time to use before I want to get to the Water 7 and Enis Lobby arcs, so if there is any adventuring that you would like to see then by all means, give me ideas.

That's all for now. 'Til next time, R&R&have a nice day.


	32. Vivian

Next Chapter.

-Going Merry-

If it wasn't for the fact that she felt like her body had just had an entire fleet of Marine battleships dropped on it, she would have been up, knocking the perverted cook clear off of the boat. The man was there everyday, asking her if she wanted anything; food, ice cream, something to drink, a full body massage with some special herbs and oils that Chopper had found. While she was appreciative at first, it quickly became annoying when he started coming in every five minutes. Meaning that her only peaceful moments were at night. She knew he was just concerned for her and was grateful to him. But there was a difference between showing concern, and smothering someone.

Surprisingly, Luffy knew this difference. Whenever Sanji was capable of prying himself away from her room long enough for her to breathe, (or whenever Nami found a way to coax him over to her) Luffy was there, asking how she felt, and telling her about what he did that day, which mostly consisted of him either annoying Zoro, who was in an even worse state than she was after he had tried to start training again, opening up his wounds wider, and going onto the island and training himself.

After her fight with Zoro, according to Luffy, Vivi had passed out. Chopper noticed the glazed over look in his eyes and started screaming his head off, yelling for a doctor. That is until Nami kindly reminded him that he was a doctor, if bashing a fist over his head can be interpreted as kindly. Luffy barely caught her before she hit the ground and laid her on her back. Chopper looked her over and said that Zoro's slash had apparently cut deeper than everyone had thought. He was amazed that she was able to finish the fight as strongly as she did. Luffy, of course, yelled, "I don't care. Help her right now." Chopper said they needed to get back to the ship, as most of his more advanced medicines had been left there.

Wasting little time he picked up the princess and the doctor, told Sanji to bring Zoro, and darted back to the ship, being careful to not further injure her. Chopper worked non stop on her and was finally able to close the wound completely. He had estimated that she would be out for at least a week or two. So you can imagine his surprise when he went to go check on her three days afterwards, and found her awoke.

Fast forward a week, and here she is now, enduring another Sanji outburst of love and hearts and promises. However, right as he was getting out of the blocks, a hand appeared out of no where, grabbed the back of his jacket, and pulled him back out.

She sighed, closing her eyes. "Don't hurt him too bad Luffy."

Outside Sanji had just found himself face to face with his captain. He was about to speak up, but suddenly found that he couldn't find his tongue.

None of the crew had ever seen the captain angry. At least not truly angry. Sure there were the fits that he threw whenever he was denied food, or whenever Nami or Sanji knocked him into next week for reasons he would never understand. But in comparison to the angry that he held in his face at that moment, those time might as well been times where he was in his so called "happy place." You know, that place where the field of flowers stretches for miles, there isn't a cloud in the sky, and in Luffy's case, there was a mountain of meat standing in front of him.

"Oi, Sanji. Chopper has been telling me about how you have been keeping Vivi from resting properly. Leave her alone." He let the cook go.

The cook retreated to the kitchen. He would not be seen for the rest of the day.

Vivi didn't hear anything that went on outside of her room. Even if she could, she doubted that she would have wanted to. The dark, angry aura that she felt outside of the room had made her try to wrap the blanket around her body just a little tighter. However, when the cook didn't come back she was extremely grateful to Luffy for whatever he did. She closed her eyes once again and drifted off to sleep.

- One week later-

Vivi stood on the back of the ship, looking out to sea. She had been cleared to leave the bed by Chopper earlier that day when she proved that she could fully function as a pirate without wincing anymore. She lifted the front of her sweater, running a hand along the scar that would now be a permanent part of her body. Secretly she was rather fond of this, as it was the first battle scar that she had ever received. "Well, at least I still have one thing to thank him for."

"Thank who for what, hime-san?"

Vivi turned around to see the sultry figure of the ships archaeologist walking towards her. She smiled slightly before turning and showing her the scar.

Robin turned her gaze to it. "So doctor-san wasn't able to completely heal it. But I suppose since you like it……"

"Yes. It doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would. You know how you hear stories about people who use their scars as memories of all of their battles. I look at this scar as, I guess, a symbol of my decision to become a pirate."

"Hmm, however I do believe that there is something else tugging at the back of your mind, no? Or should I say some_one_ else."

Vivi turned to the woman shocked. She knew her observational skills were good, but this just blew her mind. "I- I have no idea what you are talking about." Denial. One of the most basic of human reactions towards unexpected news.

"Hime-san. Please do not take me for a fool. I have seen it twice now, and I originally passed it off as you simply snapping. But after your fight with swordsman-san, I have re-evaluated my observation. You have a split personality."

Vivi started at the woman for a good minute, completely silent. She then turned back to the sea, never saying a word.

"I suppose my hypothesis was not to far from the truth?"

"Her name is Vivian. I was hoping that she would never come out again. I even deluded myself into thinking that she never existed in the first place. I guess I thought that if I believed that she was never really there, maybe it would eventually be true, and she would leave me alone."

She wasn't exactly sure just when it happened, but two chairs had suddenly appeared behind her, though the flower petals that she barely caught a glimpse of gave her the answer. Robin had already occupied one and Vivi sat down in the other. "Start from the beginning, hime-san."

She took a deep breath, digging up a memory she had though was long since forgotten. "It was many years ago, back before Alabasta had been invaded by Crocodile. I was 7 or 8, and I was in Kohza's circle of friends. We had always had fun back then, before I began to take on my role as princess of Alabasta. We also watched each others backs, swearing to protect each other. I believe you already know that much."

Robin simply nodded and motioned for her to continue. "Well, one day we got in a little over our heads. These older boys came and tried to take away one of Kohza's favorite hangouts. Kohza was not one to back down from a challenge so he immediately tried to fight back. The rest of his friends were right there behind him, ready to defend their territory." Her hands balled into fists and began shaking slightly.

"They were beaten. Badly. I was the only one left. And even seeing how easily Kohza had been beaten, I still tried to fight back. "The leader of the older boys saw me and said, 'Oooh, boys look at this feisty little devil. I think we can have a little fun with this one.' " Vivi's fists only got tighter as she repeated the boy's words.

"They grabbed me and held me down. Some of them tried to grab clothes off of me; others began to remove their own. I can still remember what I was thinking then. I was thinking, where was my father, or Chaka, or Pell? Why aren't they here, hiding themselves like they always do? Won't someone please help me? Help me. Then I heard her. The very first word I heard her say was, 'Pitiful.' All hell broke loose after that.

"One of the boys that was standing behind me got a foot to the testicles. I felt both of them break, and I liked it. Then I somehow twisted my body, forcing them off of me. The closest person to me got a foot to the stomach, then a knee to the face. His nose automatically began pouring blood out of his head. Thug number three tried to blindside me. I have no idea just how I did this, but I floated under his punch and, like water, flowed into my next move. A stiff side kick to his back. I would find out later that the boy would end up paralyzed. The last two tried to run off. I jumped one of them, and was…..grateful……to find that this was the leader of their little group. He begged me, pleaded with me to stop. To show mercy. I would respond by taking the knife that he had strapped to his belt, flipping it up, and saying, 'Now who is having fun?' I Laughed. I was about to kill that bastard and I laughed!" She looked like she was on the verge of simply breaking down, but held her calm enough to continue the story.

"Pell jumped in just as I was about to impale the knife right between his eyes. He held me against the wall, yelling at me to stop, asking me what was wrong with me. I didn't care. All I wanted was to kill that boy right then. I had ripped my arm free of his grasp and made a stab at him. He dodged it and then slapped me across the face, Hard.

Suddenly all of the anger that I had built up was gone. That voice inside of my head that had been edging me on during my fight had suddenly left. I stared up at Pell for five minutes, and he just stared back, as if he knew that I never really meant any of what I had just did. I dropped the knife, hurled myself into his arms, and cried, squeezing in an apology whenever I could formulate coherent words. He just held me. Eventually, he flew me back to the castle, took me to my room, and told the guards that no one was to bother me. I was grateful to him for that."

Robin remained respectfully silent throughout the entire story. When Vivi had stopped talking she took her opportunity. "This other you is an intriguing phenomenon. She appears whenever you are in some sort of personal danger, or if there is someone close to you in the same sort of danger. And she doesn't completely take over your mind either. She seems to simply implant very, very strong mental suggestions into your mind. She also appears to be extremely combat oriented."

Vivi simply nodded her head. "My father made up something to take the blame off of me, then asked me what happened. I told him that I didn't remember. Like I said, I tried to simply forget about it all, pretend that whatever that voice was never existed. And for all of these years, it has worked."

Robin looked inquisitively at her. "And then your former friend threatened to kill your nakama and your family. But tell me, why didn't she come back during Crocodiles invasion? I would have thought that to be sufficient motivation for her."

"I think that my denial of her existence did indeed have some effect on her influence. She seems to come up when the matter at hand is more personal so to speak. Where as the Crocodile incident was more of a duty to my country issue, Kohza and even Mr. Bushido were personal matters."

Robin nodded her head. "So why does she bother you so much, hime-san?"

Vivi looked down. "I- I am afraid, Robin. What happens if I let every fight I am in get personal like this, and she slowly starts to gain more and more control? What happens when I can't stop her, and I suddenly go berserk? What-" She was cut off when the fist that had been balled up so tightly that her nails had broken her skin and began to shed blood, was suddenly covered by the archaeologist's hand in a surprisingly comforting gesture from the detached woman. Vivi looked up at her.

"Why fight her? Why fight something that is clearly here to help you? Fighting her will only allow her to think up stronger ways to take you over, until one day she actually will completely envelop you. Instead, embrace her. Accept her help. I am sure that you will find out that she will be much easier to control if you look at her as a partner, instead of a hindrance." Robin smiled at this.

Vivi was somewhat shocked. "Why? You never show any interest in the problems of Luffy, Nami, or anyone else. Why are you spending so much time with me?"

Robin's face grew serious. "I am ashamed of what I did to you and your father when I was working with Crocodile. I may have apologized to you before, but I doubt that it makes up for what I have done. This is just my way of expressing my regret for what I had done."

Vivi smiled, for the first time since the conversation had gotten started. It wasn't big, but you could see the happiness on her face. "I- Thank you so much, Robin."

"Don't mention it, hime-san."

Vivi turned her head, and then decided to take a chance. "You know, don't you? About me and Luffy?"

Robin looked at her with a bemused smile. "That is correct, hime-san."

"How long?"

"Since the first night. I was watching."

Vivi laughed. "I figured someone was going to find out."

Robin smiled. "I can pretty much tell that this infatuation for sencho-san started way before you returned to this ship. In fact, it was probably the main reason you returned in the first place. But I am curious, what is it about sencho-san that drew you to him?"

And with that, she began to explain just how Luffy had completely turned her world around for her.

-Hours Later

Vivi had to admit it. When the woman wasn't eternally wrapped within her library of books, or discovering some new, uncharted ruin on some backwater island, Nico Robin was surprisingly good at lightening the mood and cheering up anyone she talked to. She was an exceptional listener and gave advice as if she wrote the book on it. Plus, it was a great relief for her to talk to the woman about her relationship with her captain. Though she did make sure, numerous times to the archaeologist's humor, to make her promise not to reveal their relationship to the rest of the crew.

She was now standing at the front of the ship, taking in the cool sea air. This day had started out modestly alright, and turned out to be yet another high note on her adventure into piratism. How else could this day get any better?

Almost immediately, a thought struck her head. Something else began nagging at the back of her mind, though she couldn't quite put her finger on just what it was. "I didn't forget about training with Luffy. Chopper says to hold off on training for a few weeks. That kinda sucks since Nami-san said the log pose will be set in a few days. Maybe….. No, I don't owe Nami-san any money. Though, after my fight I'm sure that she could use an extra buck or two." She silently giggled, remembering when Luffy told her about the rampage that Nami had went on after Vivi had beaten Zoro.

It was about at that time when she spotted Zoro coming back to the ship. He took one look at her, grumbled something, and started to head into the men's room.

That was when it hit her. "Oh Mr. Bushiiidoooooo."

Zoro stopped and turned towards her. "What do you want hime? Haven't you already proven that you are better than me?"

She smiled sweetly. "Yes, yes I have. However, I hope you aren't forgetting about our little bet, are you?"

His face suddenly went into shock. 'Damnit, I was hoping that she would have forgotten that part.' "Oh, that. I thought that it was just a joke."

"No, it wasn't. A deal is a deal. And I already know what I want you to do." She had an evil smile on her face. Zoro had only seen that smile on one other woman's face, and he didn't like it.

'This isn't gonna be good.'

-A few days later-

The Going Merry had set out from the island and was moving at a steady pace in the direction the log pose indicated.

Luffy had fallen asleep on his seat once again. When he would awake, he would be treated to a rather strange sight.

Zoro, holding a mop and bucket, wearing a pink apron, just came out of the men's room and had begun to mop the entire deck of the Going Merry.

Luffy bounced over to his first mate. "Oi, Zoro, what the hell are you doing?"

"I'm mopping the deck, what does it look like I'm doing?" He said in a more than perturbed voice.

"Why? We never mop the deck."

"Because our little navigator told me to."

"But you never do what Nami tells you."

"Unfortunately, now I have to, until we get to the next island."

"Oi, Zoro. When you are done with than, I want you to dust the entire ship." The voice of the ships navigator came from in front of her orange grove.

"Yes, Nami-sama."

Luffy was, to say the least, amazed. "Oi, Nami, what did you do to Zoro?"

She smiled. "Oh nothing. He made a deal with Vivi. The loser of their fight had to do whatever the winner wanted until we reached the next island. So Vivi told him that he had to be my slave."

"Oh I see. In that case, it's Zoro's fault."

Zoro turned angrily to his captain. "HOW THE HELL IS THIS MY FAULT??!!"

Luffy laughed. "Because you didn't follow the first rule of gambling. Never bet against a woman, 'cause you'll always lose."

-End-

And that is the end of the Zoro vs. Vivi arc. May not have been the best, but it was definitely worth the time.

To all of my readers. Review. I need reviews. I need to know what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong. Help me out here.

To all of my readers and reviews. If you like the story, please suggest it to other readers.

Thank you for your time. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. Now I need to try and find another good storyline.

As always. R&R&have a nice day.


	33. Inner Conflict

Here we go again.

Nefertari Vivi was, at the moment, content with how life was moving for her.

The biggest up in her life right now was the fact that she was with Luffy, and although it hadn't been made public knowledge that they were officially a couple, with the exception of the ships archaeologist, it was easy enough to hide this fact, since they expressed their feelings for one another through a rather productive means; sparing.

Though not quite to extent that the normally do, Luffy and Vivi would still find time on the ship to have their daily training exercises. They mainly consisted of one of them attacking, while the other dodged, blocked, or endured. This would inevitably serve three purposes. 1. The attacking pirate would learn to develop new and unorthodox ways of attacking, since the same attacks, no matter how much they changed up their attack patterns, would start to more and more predictable. 2. The defending pirates defensive skills would gradually increase, allowing them to dodge faster, turn regular blocks into parries, and to take less and less blows from their opponent. It would also give them alternate ways to avoid getting hit. For instance, when Vivi would strike a certain way with her strings, Luffy would usually roll out of the way and avoid it. After a while, he learned how to block it without damaging himself, and eventually was able to parry it, even turn her own attack against her.

However, none of this compared to the third benefit of this training. Vivi actually deduced this after watching Zoro and Sanji engage in yet another one of their mini wars after a training session. By fighting against one another for so long, they formed some sort of mental battle bond, allowing them to know just what the other would do in a fight without so much as a glance in their direction. It wasn't that Zoro and Sanji's fighting styles complemented each other naturally. Just that they were so in tune with each other's actions that it seemed that way. Motivated by this revelation, and eager to get even closer to her captain, she doubled her efforts in their training sessions, and in time began correctly predicting her captain's movements. She figured that her captain had either figured it out as well, or was simply doing what was natural for him, because he was correctly foreseeing her next moves as well.

Thinking about the swordsman automatically brought an evil smile to her face. While she knew that he was probably cursing her existence over his punishment, she figured that it was well worth the scar that she had gotten. Nami, unfortunately and rather surprisingly, wasn't completely insensitive, and gave him a few hours during the day to do whatever training he wanted, but that didn't mean that she didn't take full advantage of her temporary slave. She worked him every hour that she could, giving him somewhat atrocious tasks to do. From sharpening Sanji's cooking knives, to cleaning Chopper's medicine bottles, there was no end to the tasks that Nami gave him.

Yes, life was good for the former princess. However, every sunny day has a dark cloud. And hers came in the form of her _other_ resident.

Balancing out the overwhelming good mood that she was immersed in was the memory of her alter ego, Vivian. The one that made her presence known all those years ago in an Alabastan alley. The one that she, for all these years, believed never truly existed, in the hopes that she would indeed go away. The one that had made it perfectly clear that she wasn't going anywhere.

Her talk with Robin a few days ago had relieved some of the tension that she was feeling, but as the days went by, she felt it come back, in greater force than ever. 'She makes it sound so easy. 'Don't fight her; accept her as a part of myself. How do I do that without wondering what will happen next? What if she is wrong and I end up completely losing myself?' These thoughts enveloped her so completely, that she was totally unaware of the person behind her, trying to get her attention.

"Vivi. Hey, Vivi." Nami called to her a few more times before he placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her lightly.

Vivi, to say the least, reacted rather violently to the touch, whipping around and releasing her string, stopping it a centimeter from Nami's face when she realized who it was. She immediately retracted her string, and began the barrage of apologies. "Nami-san! I'm- I'm so sorry! I didn't know it was you! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Nami was still frozen in place while she was talking, but eventually collected herself enough to formulate words. "Eh, don't- don't worry about it. It's ok. But what's wrong? I've never seen you react that way to just a touch like that."

Vivi looked at her feet. "I was just thinking about some things. Don't worry though, I'll be fine." She looked back up and smiled. "So, what did you want, Nami-san?"

Nami was lost and confused. Vivi went from completely alert, to apologetic, to something bordering on sadness, and now back to her normal self, in less than a minute. "Um, oh, lunch is ready. Sanji wanted to serve us girls before Luffy got word. Or smell."

Vivi giggled lightly. "Ok then, let's go." Vivi walked past Nami and headed for the kitchen.

Nami watched the princess for a few more seconds, while she thought to herself. 'Something is wrong here. I know she has gotten over her grief after the whole Kohza incident, but now it seems like there is something else there. But who would know?" She began to mentally tick off points in her mind.

'She would tell Luffy, but I doubt he would understand most of it. Besides, he wouldn't relay any of the important details to me. After that fight, I doubt Zoro would be the one she would speak to. If she told Sanji, Sanji would have told me, so not him. Usopp is a definite no. He's way too loud to keep a secret like that. And Chopper would probably be in the same boat as Luffy.' That left only one other person. With a determined look on her face, she headed straight to the women's quarters.

-The Women's Room-

Nico Robin was in her room, immersed in yet another extremely thick archaeological book. This one had details about a few of the many finds she had waiting for her on the road to the Rio Poneglyph. And although she would never show it, she was inwardly excited about heading for her next find, and ultimately, her next poneglyph.

"Oi, Robin, you in there?" The voice of the ships navigator caught her ears. She looked up at the door.

"Yes, navigator-san."

Nami opened the door and waved. "Hey, what's up?" She closed the door behind her.

"Nothing much. Just reading up on some ruins that we will be coming up on in the future. What about you?"

Nami took a seat in one of the chairs next to her. "Nothing much, just nearly got killed by Vivi."

Robin didn't react in the slightest. "I see. Did you do something to upset her?" She placed the book down and turned her full attention to Nami.

"I don't really know. She looked like there was something on her mind when I went to talk to her, but she wouldn't tell me anything."

"I see. But why are you telling me this?"

"Well, back when she was first with us, before you joined, anytime she had some sort of problem, she was quick to come to me with it. No matter how big or small it was, she was never afraid to tell me what was wrong. The fact that she is keeping whatever her current problem from me is kinda troubling. I figured that there was at least someone on this ship that she would have told, and you are the only person that she logically would have spoken to."

Robin smiled slightly at this. "Your logic appears to be sound, navigator-san. But there is nothing to tell."

Nami looked up at her suspiciously. "Nothing to tell or nothing that you will tell?"

The archaeologist looked approvingly at her. "You are far smarter than you appear to be. Unfortunately, I am not at liberty to talk about anything the princess has told me."

"Aw come on Robin, it's just us girls."

"That may be true, but if I tell you, you will immediately start doing whatever you can to try and help her. And then she will know that I told you."

"Is that all you are afraid of? Her finding out?"

"Yes. As much as we have talked, as much time we have spent together, we have still only just begun to build trust between us. As hard as it is to build, it is very easy to break. That is why I must stay by my word and not tell anyone unless she wants everyone to know."

'For someone who is as detached as she is, she is surprisingly caring.' Nami sighed and stood up, "You have a point there I guess. Fine, I'll leave it alone for now. Thank you for explaining all of this."

Robin smiled sweetly at her. "No problem navigator-san."

Nami headed for the door. "Oh, lunch is ready, by the way."

"Ok, I'll be up in a moment." Robin picked up her book and continued reading, eager to finish the rest of the chapter.

-Alabasta-

The sun was now clearly visible in the cloudless sky of Alabasta, streaming its rays through the open window of the princess's room. She slowly woke up, stretching her arms to the ceiling, and standing. It took her no more than two seconds for her to become aware that she was not where she was supposed to be.

'Strange, I can almost swear that I was on the ship with Luffy-san.' She turned her head fro side to side, pinched herself, closed her eyes for a minute and then opened them, and yet she was still within the walls of her castle. "I guess it was all just a dream.' She hung her head and walked out the door of her room, thinking about heading to the kitchen to eat.

However her next surprise would come on the first step out of her room.

She looked left and right, but no one occupied the halls of the castle. Her disappointment suddenly became worried curiosity as she began her trek to the kitchen. "Maybe my father has some sort of special assignment for them."

That thought was immediately dashed when she made the long trek to the kitchen, only to find that it too was as empty as the tomb where the poneglyph was. "Ok, now I am getting worried. Maybe a little fresh air would do me some good."

Once again, her hopes would end up being dashed, because the first thing that she saw was her city.

This wouldn't have been a problem if there were still people in it.

Without even thinking, she ran. She searched every single room of the castle, but couldn't find anyone. Carue, Chaka, her servants, her guards, Igaram, no one could be found. "What is going on? Where is everyone?"

She reached the final room of the castle. The throne room. "Please be here." She opened the doors…..

And was greeted with an empty room. An empty throne.

The expression that overtook her face was one that bordered on the edge of utter despair, as she fell to her knees, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "Where are you father?"

The next voice she heard practically scared her out of her skin. "I can't believe I have to share a mind with such a crybaby."

She immediately jumped up and turned to face whoever it was. However, the moment she saw who it was, fear laced her entire body.

The person that she faced was wearing her regular clothes, a purple hooded sweat shirt, a pair of white shorts that went down to her mid thighs, and white boots. She also had hair the same color and length as her own, tied back into her signature ponytail, though she did not have her bangs. However, while Vivi's face, even when she was angry, still held the softness and grace that was the norm for the former princess, this person had a face that just screamed "I am evil, and I am loving every minute of it." The devilish smile that she had on her face only cemented this for Vivi, who slowly began to realize just who this was.

"Vivian."

-On the ship-

Robin's slumber was disturbed by the sharp intakes of breath that was coming from Vivi. She stood and walked over to her bedside. It was then that the moonlight shone its way through the small window, and reflected off of the sweat that was coming off of Vivi.

Robin considered waking her up, when she heard the princess barely whisper one word. "Vivian."

She stopped. She realized that this wasn't just any bad dream for her. This would be a battle like none she has ever had before. This would be a battle of her own mind, deciding whether to continue to fight a part of herself, or to accept it as a part of herself.

And no one could be permitted to interfere.

She pulled up a chair right next to her bed, grabbed the book she had been reading earlier that day, and opened it up to her bookmark. If she was going to be on guard duty, she would at least make sure that she would be entertained.

-Palace-

"I must say that after all of this time, it pleases me to no end that you still remember your old friend." To say that she spoke with just a hint of sarcasm would be as much of an understatement as saying Nami likes money.

"Where…. Where are we? Why are we here?" Vivi spoke half in fear, half in anger.

Vivian scoffed. "For a princess you are about as imaginative as that swordsman freak. I'll be willing to bet that even that straw hat boy would know where we are now."

That caused Vivi to start thinking again. 'If I am talking to her, face to face, then that means….' As realization hit her, her eyes widened.

Vivian, reading her expressions perfectly, laughed. "That's right, princess. Welcome to your mind."

Once the initial shock passed over, she began to think once again. "But why would my mind take the form of the palace?"

Vivian rolled her eyes. "Think about it, airhead. You spent your whole life here. Don't you think that it would make sense for your mind to use the most familiar setting it knows? The one place you loved more than anything?"

Vivi stared at her alter ego. She did have a point. "Ok so why are you here?"

"Simple. Because now that you are with those pirates, the chances that I will be making appearances have dramatically increased. You have already realized this, and coupled with your recent chit chat with that woman, you have come here to at least try to come to terms with me. At least subconsciously you have. Tell me I'm wrong."

Of course, the first thing that Vivi did was search her mind for a reason to say that she was indeed wrong, but came up with a big blank. "I guess I have."

Vivian laughed loudly at that. "I can't believe that I knew how you would think better than you did. All the more reason why you should just let me take over while you spend eternity in that cell."

Vivi looked up, confused. "Cell?"

"Oh, that's right, you never visited me. You never knew exactly what happened to me during those years when you decided to 'believe that I didn't exist'. Here I'll show you."

She waved her hand, and the room dissolved around them. Seconds later, they were standing in a dark, stone cell with no doors, no windows, and no view of what lay outside what so ever.

"What… what is this?" Vivi touched the stone wall.

"This is where you decided to confine me. You put forth a great deal of effort to try and seal me away, to make my existence a living hell, when all I was trying to do was give you a little backbone."

Vivi turned towards her. "What do you mean?"

"You remember all those years ago when you were attacked by those boys. You had everything you needed to escape from that position, but because you lacked the spine to attack like you should have, you would have ended up lying there, completely violated.

"I was born out of that feeling of utter uselessness that you felt right then and there. You couldn't face the fact that you were a failure to your friends there, and that allowed me to come into existence. You should be grateful to that, because if you hadn't you would be a virgin now. If not for me, Kohza would have killed your father, your friends, everyone that was important to you. If not for me, that swordsman would have beaten you to the ground as easily as ever. Face it, princess, you are weak."

Vivi stared at her, tears beginning to well up in her eyes, "No. You are wrong. I am not weak. I am far stronger than you think. I haven't trained all this time with Chaka, with Luffy for nothing. I have gotten stronger."

"Prove it." With another wave of her hand they were in the courtyard of the Alabasta palace. "If you are indeed so strong, fight me to prove it." Vivian released her strings, though unlike Vivi's, hers were black.

Vivi wiped her eyes, steeled herself for the battle, and released her strings.

Vivian smiled. "Peacock string whip!" She brought her right string across to Vivi's side, just low enough to make Vivi jump over it. Then while Vivi was still in the air, "Peacock string bullet!" She shot her other string straight at Vivi's chest.

Vivi, though surprised by the move at first, recovered quickly, twisting her body to the side, letting the string pass right beside her. While still twisting, she set up for her first attack. "Peacock string bullet!" She aimed her string for her opponent's chest.

Vivian bent backwards, allowing the string to pass right over her. She then stood up and rushed Vivi, who had finally landed and began to rush Vivian as well. With just a few meters between the two of them they both called out their next attack.

"Peacock string barrage!"

It was on. The strings were flying all over the place, with the intent of hurting their respective targets. The differences in their fighting styles were blinding apparent to Vivi. Where Vivian was aggressively attacking and pressing into Vivi, Vivi was sitting, waiting, dodging and blocking, hoping to find an opening. Inwardly she smiled. If that was what Vivian meant when she said that Vivi was weak, then she would show her just how wrong she was.

Once she was ready, Vivi used one of her strings to wrap around one of Vivian's and pulled back on it, throwing Vivian off balance. She then swung around and brought her other string with her, sweeping Vivian's legs out from under her. In one swift motion, she then brought the string straight up. "Peacock string slam!" She brought the string right back down, thought it would never finish, as Vivian had wrapped a string of her own around Vivi's legs, and brought them out from under her. The string that Vivi had been planning to slam onto Vivian fell harmlessly above her head.

Once both fighters rolled back to their feet, they were at it again, sending a barrage of string attacks against each other. And this time, Vivian didn't wait for Vivi. She stepped up her attacks, and once Vivi was caught dangerously out of position, wrapped a string around Vivi's neck and threw her against a stone wall. Keeping the string wrapped around her, she then tossed her into the air and slammed her down to the ground.

Once the string finally left her neck, Vivi got up on all fours, took a few deep breaths, and coughed up some blood.

Back in the real world, Vivi's body was heaving heavily with each and every blow. And when her dream self coughed up blood, her real body did the same.

Robin called upon her arms to keep the princess from moving around too much, but grew slightly worried when she saw the blood. "This is worse than I thought. I never imagined that her battle would be this violent." She made a point to wake up Chopper when Vivi woke up; though just how she would explain why Vivi was coughing up blood would not be enjoyable.

Back in her dream, Vivi was slowly starting to make it to her feet. She faced Vivian and charged with her attack. Peacock string slasher!" Vivi shot her string straight forward at Vivian. Vivian simply stepped aside, already knowing what was coming next.

"Runback!" Vivi brought her string back to Vivian, but Vivian simply ducked underneath the string, then stood up and prepared for her attack.

"Double!" Vivi continued twisting and brought her second string around as well, slamming it into her side, catching Vivian completely off guard, and sending her skidding across the ground.

Vivi wasted no time in following her, completely missing the fact that Vivian's strings were still extended and trailing behind her. Once Vivi left her feet for her next attack, Vivian reacted bringing up one of her strings and coiling it around Vivi's arms and legs, then bringing her right back down to the ground.

Vivian then stood and smiled. She proceeded to bring her other string up and whipped her in the back. Vivi cringed, but would not scream.

Vivian whipped her again, with the same result. After a few more whipping, tears started to well up in Vivi's eyes.

"So tell me princess, have I convinced you that you are still as weak as ever?"

Vivi brought up enough strength to speak in a mildly forceful tone. "I. Am. Not. WEAK!"

Vivian whipped her a few more times. "You couldn't beat me. You couldn't beat Kohza. You couldn't beat the swordsman. You couldn't defend yourself against those boys. Face it, princess. You are weak. I should be allowed to rule your body."

"You. Can't. Have. It." She had to pause between each word to wince when Vivian whipped her.

"Just admit it already. You won't be able to beat me. You don't have what it takes to do so."

Vivi stared back at her in defiance, but then turned her head down. 'Maybe she is right. Sure I got in a few hits on her, but she proved that she was far superior to me. But if she is just a darker me, then I should have known what she would do. So how did she beat me?' This last thought would not leave her mind, as Vivian continued her whipping.

'I am pathetic. I couldn't beat anyone that she co-' Vivi froze right there, realization painted across her face. She then looked back at her alter ego.

"You win."

Vivian stopped her string before it reached her target, and smiled. "So have you finally accepted it?"

"I have accepted the fact that, while I have indeed become stronger in body, my mind is still that of the princess of Alabasta. I am still fighting to simply beat my opponent. You are better than me because you fight to kill your opponent."

Vivian looked at Vivi with mild curiosity, and then released the strings that bound Vivi. "I was wondering how long it would take you to pick up on that. So now that you have realized that I am truly the better choice, I suppose you will now surrender control of your body to me." Vivian smiled and began to walk off. "Don't worry, after the first few months, you get used to being alone in that cell."

Vivi had other plans. She shot her string out and wrapped it around Vivian's neck, pulled her back, and brought her face to face with her. "No. Instead I wish to call a truce. Clearly you enjoy fighting more than me. And the last thing I need is for you to start fights with every single person that you meet. So here is my offer. I allow you to 1. Occupy this part of my mind, and 2. Come out whenever I need help with a fight. In return, all I want is for you to not push your way into my consciousness anymore. Deal?" Vivi held out her free hand.

Vivian looked down at her hand, then back up at the princess. She then did something that Vivi had not been prepared for. She smiled. Sincerely. "I guess I did my job. You finally grew a backbone." She shook hands with the former princess.

Vivi released her. "You be good in here. I don't want to come back here and see this place trashed."

Vivian rolled her eyes. "Just get out of here already. I want to enjoy my freedom now."

Vivi smiled slightly, and in a second, she was gone.

-Women's room-

Robin was somewhat glad when the princess finally stopped writhing under her arms. She figured that the fight must have been over by now, but was still doubtful about who won that fight.

She released her arms and waited, hoping for the best. She mentally crossed her fingers when Vivi stirred slightly, then opened her eyes slowly. "Mmm. Man, I hope I never have to do that again." She finally sat up, holding her head. She then looked over at Robin, and grew a confused look on her face. "Robin, why are you…." She stopped when Robin held up a hand.

"Apparently, your battle with your inner self was far more violent than you imagined, no pun intended. Your real body seemed to feel every hit that you felt in you dream, even coughing up blood."

Vivi's eyes widened during her explanation. "That is- Wow. I can't believe that it was…"

"It's ok, hime-san. Right now the important thing is that you are ok. And Vivian?"

"We have cut a deal. She can come out to fight as long as she doesn't actively interfere with me."

Robin smiled at this. "Though the method was somewhat taxing, it would seem that you have reached a favorable outcome."

Vivi then laid her head back down. "You are right, on both counts. I think I am going to try and sleep now. You think you can tell Luffy that I probably won't be training tomorrow?'

"No problem, hime-san."

Vivi smiled at this and the closed her eyes. She would sleep peacefully for the rest of the night and well into the next day, with Robin seated in front of her bed, book in hand, making sure that there were no interruptions.

Yay, next chapter done.

I am thinking about my next part. I wan to get in as much as I can before I delve into the Water 7 arc. So if you have any ides, please feel free to share them.

Other than that R&R&have a nice day.


	34. Redirect Chapter

Redirect Chapter

Ok, everyone who is still on the story alert for this story, I have decided to completely discontinue the production of this story. Reason being that my muse for any and all stories One Piece, the beautiful and deadly Nico Robin, has refused to offer any more feedback for this particular story idea until I create a story of much better quality. This story is called KaizokuHime. I have already posted the first chapter for it so you may go ahead and head straight for it. Thank you.


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